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THREE  MONTHS 


IN 


!.THE   SOUTHERN  STATES: 


APRIL,  JUNE,  1J5C3 


^1 


BY 


lieut.-gol..fr3:m:antle, 

COLDSTREAM  GUARDS. 


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.% 


nV 


THREE    MONTHS 


nr 


THE  SOUTHERN  STATES; 


APRIL,  JUNE,  1863. 


BY 


LIEUT.-COL.  FREMANTLE. 

COLDSTREAM  GUARDS. 


MOBILE : 

S.  H.  GOETZEL. 


1864. 


A. \\%^rr 


» 


i'4«^. 


PREFACE. 


At  the  outbreak  of  the  American  war,  in  common  with  many 
of  my  countrymen,  I  felt  very  indifferent  as  to  which  side  might 
win  ;  but  if  I  had  any  bias,  my  sympathies  were  rather  in  favor  of 
the  North,  on  account  of  ttie  dislike  which  an  Englishman  natu- 
rally feels  at  the  idea  of  slavery.  But  soon  a  sentiment  of  great 
admiration  for  the  gallantry  and  determination  of  the  Southerners, 
together  with  the  unhappy  contrast  afforded  by  the  foolish  bully- 
ing conduct  of  the  Northerners,  caused  a  complete  revulsion  in  my 
feelings,  and  I  was  unable  to  repress  a  strong  wish  to  go  to  Amer- 
ica and  see  something  of  this  wonderful  struggle. 

Having  successfully  accomplished  my  design,  I  returned  to 
England,  and  found  amongst  all  my  friends  an  extreme  desire  to 
know  the  truth  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  South  ;  for,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  blockade,  the  truth  can  with  difficulty  be  arrived 
at,  as  intelligence  coming  mainly  through  Northern  sources  is  not 
believed ;  and,  in  fact,  nowhere  is  the  ignorance  of  what  is  passing 
in  the  South  more  profound  than  it  is  in  the  Northern  States. 

In  consequence  of  the  desire  often  expressed,  I  now  publish 
the  Diary  which  1  endeavored,  as  well  as  I  could,  to  keep  up  day 
by  day  during  my  travels  throughout  the  Confederate  States. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  conceal  any  of  the  peculiarities  or  de- 
fects of  the  Southern  people.  Many  persons  will  doubtless  highly 
disapprove  of  some  of  their  customs  and  habits  in  the  wilder  por- 
tion of  the  country  ;  but  I  think  no  generous  man,  whatever  may 
be  his  political  opinions,  can  do  otherwise  than  admire  the  cour- 
age, energy,  and  patriotism  of  the  whole  population,  and  the  skill 
of  its  leaders,  in  this  struggle  against  great  odds.  And  I  am  also 
of  opinion  that  many  will  agree  with  me  in  thinking  that  a 
people  in  which  all  ranks und  both  spxes  display  a  unanimity  and 
a  heroism  which  can  never  h?ve  been  surpassed  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  is  destined  sooner  or  later,  to  become  a  great  and  in- 
dependent nation. 


'd'^^fS 


'.\  c  :-•  s 


THREE  MONTHS 

IN 

THE  SOUTHERN  STATES. 

APRIL,  MAY,  JUNE,  1863. 


2d  March,  1863.— I  left  England  in  the  royal  mail  steamer 
Atrato,  and  arrived  at  St.  Thomas  on  the  17th. 

22d  March. —Anchored  at  Havana  at  6.15  a.  m.,  where  I  fetl 
in  with  my  old  friend,  H.  M's  frigate  Immortalite.  Captain  Han- 
cock not  only  volunteered  to  take  me  as  his  guest  to  Matamoros, 
but  also  to  take  a  Texan  merchant  whose  acqaintance  I  had  made 
in  the  Atrato.  This  gentleman's  name  is  M'Carthy.  He  is  of 
Irish  birth — an  excellent  fellow,  and  a  good  companion ;  and  when 
be  understood  my  wish  to  see  the  ••  South,"  he  had  most  good- 
naturedly  volunteered  to  pilot  me  over  part  of  the  Texan  deserts. 
I  owe  much  to  Captain  Hancock's  kindness. 

23d  March. — Left  Havana  in  H.  M.  S.  Immortality,  at  11  a. 
M.    Knocked  off  steam  when  outside  the  harbor. 

1st  April. — Anchored  at  8.30  p.  M.,  three  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  or  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte,  which  is,  I  believe, 
its  more  correct  name,  in  the  midst  of  about  seventy  merchant 
vessels. 

2d  April. — The  Texan  and  I  left  the  Immortalite,  in  her  cutter, 
at  10  A.  M.,  and  crossed  the  bar  in  fine  style.  The  cutter  was  steer- 
ed by  Mr.  Johnston,  the  master,  and  having  a  fair  wind,  we  passed 
in  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  landed  at  the  miserable  village  of 
Bagdad,  on  the  Mexican  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

The  bar  was  luckily  in  capital  order — 3j  feet  of  water,  and 
smooth.  It  is  often  impassable  for  ten  or  twelve  days  together  ; 
the  depth  of  water  varying  fiom  2  to  5  feet.  It  is  very  dangerous, 
from  the  heavy  surf  and  under-current;  sharks  also  abound. 
Boats  are  frequently  capsized  in  crossing  it,  and  the  Orlando  lost 
a  man  on  it  about  a  month  ago. 

Seventy  vessels  are  constantly  .at- anchor  outside  the  bar; 
their  cotton  cargoes  being  brought  to  them,  with  very  great  delays, 


by  two  sjnall  steamers  from  Bagdad.  These  steamers  draw  only 
3  feet  of  water,  aiid  realize  an  enormous  profit. 

Bagdad  consists  of  a  few  miserable  wooden  shanties,  which 
have  sprung  into  existence  since  the  war  began.  For  an  im- 
mense distance  endless  bales  of  cotton  are  to  be  seen. 

Immediately  we  landed,  ]\rCarthy  was  greeted  by  his  brother 
merchants.  He  introduced,  me  to  Mr.  Ituria,  a  Mexican,  who  pro- 
mised tQlake  me  in  his  buggy  to  Brownsville,  on  the  Texan  bank 
of  thedver  o^iposite  Matamoros.  McCarthy  was  to  follow  in  the 
evening  to  Matamoros. 

The  Rio  Grande  is  very  tortuous  and  shallow  ;  the  distance  by 
river  to  Matamoros  is  sixty-five  miles,  and  it  is  navigated  by  steam- 
ers, which  sometimes  perform  the  trip  in  twelve  hours,  but  more 
often  take  twenty-four,  so  constantly  do  they  get  aground. 

The  distancf^  from  Bagdad  to  Matamoros  by  land  is  thirty-five 
miles;  on  the  Texan  side  to  Brownsville,  twenty-six  miles. 

I  crossed  the  river  from  Bagdad  with  Mr.  Tturia,  at  11  o'clock ; 
and  as  I  had  no  pass,  I  was  taken  before  half-a-dozen  Confederate 
oflficers,  who  were  seated  round  a  fire  contemplating  a  tin  of  pota- 
toes. These  oflficers  belonged  to  Duff's  cavalry  (Duff  being  my 
Texan's  partner.)  Their  dress  consisted  simply  of  flannel  shirts, 
very  ancient  trousers ,  jack-boots  with  enormous  spurs,  and  black 
felt  hats,  ornamented  with  the  "  lone  star  of  Texas."  They  look- 
ed rough  and  dirty,  but  were  extremely  civil  to  me. 

The  captain  was  rather  a  boaster,  and  kept  on  remarking, 
"  We've  given  'em  h — 11  on  the  Mississippi,  h — 11  on  the  Sabine/ 
(pronounced  Sabeen,)  "  and  h — 11  in  various  other  places." 

He  explained  to  me  that  he  could'nt  cross  the  river  to  see 
McCarthy,  as  he  with  some  of  bis  men  had  made  a  raid  over  there 
three  weeks  ago,  and  carried  away  some  "renegadoes,"one  of  whom, 
named  Montgomery,  they  had  Ivft  on  the  road  to  Brownsville;  by 
the  smiles  of  the  other  officers,  1  could  easily  guess  that  something 
very  disagreeable  must  have  happened  to  Montgomery.  He  intro- 
duced me  to  a  skipper  who  had  just  run  his  schooner,  laden  with 
cotton,  from  Galveston,  and  who  was  much  elated  in  consequence. 
The  cotton  had  cost  6  cents,  a  pound  in  Galveston,  and  is  worth 
36  here. 

Mr.  Ituria  and  I  left  for  Brownsville  at  noon.  A  buggy  is  a 
light  gig  on  four  high  wheels. 

The  road  is  a  natural  one— the  country  quite  flat,  and  much 
covered  with  mesquite-trees,  very  like  pepper-trees.  Every  per- 
son we  met  carried  a  six-shooter,  although  it  is  very  seldom  ne- 
cessary to  use  them. 

After  we  haci  proceeded  about  nine  miles  we  met  General  Bee, 


who  commands  the  troops  at  Brownsville.  He  was  travelhig  to 
Boca  del  Rio  in  an  ambulance,*  with  his  qtiartermaster-general, 
Major  Rus§elL  I  gave  him  my  letter  of  introduction  to  General 
Magruder,  and  told  him  who  I  was. 

He  thereupon  descended  from  his  ambulance,  and  regaled  me  with 
beef  and  beer  in  the  open  air.  He  is  brother  to  the  General  Bee 
wa«  was  killed  at  Manassas.  We  talked  politics  and  fraternized 
vere  amicably  for  more  than  an  hour.  He  said  the  Montgomery 
affair  was  against  his  sanction  and  he  was  sorry  for  it.  He  said 
that  Davis,  another  renegado,  would  also  have  been  put  to  deaths 
had  it  not  been  for  the  intercession  of  his  wife.  General  Bee  had 
restored  Davis  to  the  Mexicans. 

Half  an  hour  after  parting  company  with  General  Bee,  we 
came  to  the  spot  where  Montgomery  had  been  left ;  and  sure 
enough,  about  two  hundred  ykvds  to  the  left  ot  the  road,  we  found 
him. 

He  had  been  slightly  buried,  but  his  head  and  arras  were  above 
the  ground,  his  arms  tied  together,  the  rope  still  around  his  neck, 
but  part  of  it  still  dangling  from  quite  a  small  mesquite-tree. 
Dogs  or  wolves  had  probably  scraped  the  earth  from  the  body,  and 
there  was  no  flesh  on  the  bones.  I  obtained  this  my  first  experi- 
ence of  Lynch  law  within  three  hours  of  landing  in  America. 

I  understand  that  this  Montgomery  was  a  man  of  very  bad  cha- 
racter, and  that,  confiding  in  the  neutrality  of  the  Mexican  soil,  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  calling  the  Confederates  all  sorts  of  insulting 
epithets  from  the  Bagdad  bank  of  the  river ;  and  a  party  of  his 
**  renegadoes"  had  also  crossed  over  and  killed  some  unarmed  cot- 
ton teamsters,  which  had  roused  the  fury  of  the  Confederates. 

About  three  miles  beyond  this  we  came  to  Colonel  Duff's  en- 
campment. He  is  a  fine  looking,  handsome  Scotchman,  and  re- 
ceived me  with  much  hospitality.  His  regiment  consisted  of  newly 
raised  volunteers — a  very  fine  body  of  young  men,  who  were  dril- 
ling in  squads.  They  were  dressed  in  every  variety  of  costume, 
many  of  them  without  coats,  but  all  wore  the  high  black  felt  hat. 
Notwithstanding  the  peculiarity  of  their  attire,  there  was  nothing 
ridiculous  or  contemptible  in  the  appearance  of  these  men,  who  all 
looked  thoroughly  like  "business."  Colonel  Duff  told  me  that 
many  of  the  privates  owned  vast  tracts  of  country,  with  above  a 
hundred  slaves,  and  were  extremely  well  off.  They  were  all  most 
•  civil  to  me. 

Their  horses  were  rather  raw-boned  animals,  but  hardy  and  fast. 
The  saddles  they  used  were  nearly  like  the  Mexican.    Colonel 

*An  ambulance  is  a  light  wagon,  and  generally  has  two  springs  behind, 
and  one  transverse  one  in  front.  The  seats  can  be  so  arranged  that  two  or 
«ven  three  persona  may  lie  at  full  length.  * 


8 

Duflf  confesr  ed  that  the  Montgomery  aflfair  was  wrong,  hut  he  ad- 
ded that  his  boys  "  meant  well.*' 

We  reached  Brownsville  at  5.30  p.  m.,  and  Mr,  Itiiria  kindly  in- 
sisted on  my  sleeping  at  his  house,  instead  of  going  to  the  crowded 
hotel. 

^d  April  (Good  Friday.) — At  8  a.  m.  I  got  a  military  pass  to 
cross  the  Rio  Grande  into  Mexico,  which  I  presented  to  the  sentry^ 
who  then  allowed  me  to  cross  in  the  ferry-boat. 

Carriages  are  not  permitted  to  run  on  Good  Friday  in  Mexicor 
so  I  had  a  hot  dusty  walk  of  more  than  a  mile  into  Matamoros. 

Mr.  Znrn,  the  acting  British  Consul,  and  Mr.  Behnsen,  hixS  part- 
ner, invited  me  to  live  at  the  Consulate  during  my  stay  at  Mata- 
moros, and  I  accepted  their  offer  with  much  gratitude. 

I  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Oolville,  a  Manchester  man;  to  Mr, 
Maloney,  one  of  the  principal  merchants  ;  to  Mr.  Bennet,  an  En- 
glishman, one  of  the  owners  of  the  Peterhoff,  who  seemed  rather 
elated  than  otherwise  when  he  heard  of  the  capture  of  his  vesseU 
as  he  said  the  case  was  such  a  gross  (?ne  that  onr  government 
would  be  obliged  to  take  it  up.  I  was  also  presented  to  the  go^ 
bernador,  rather  a  rough. 

After  dining  with  Mr.  Zorn  I  walked  back  to  the  Efo  Grande,, 
which  I  was  allowed  to  cross  on  presenting  Mr.  Colville's  pass  to 
the  Mexican  soldiersi  and  I  slept  at  Mr.  Ituria's  again, 

Brownsville  is  a  straggling  town  of  about  3,000  inhabitants ; 
most  of  its  houses  are  wooden  ones,  and  its  streets  are  long, 
broad  and  straight.  There  are  about  4,000  troops  under  General 
Bee  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  Its  prosperity  was  much  injured 
when  Matamoros  was  declared  a  free  port. 

After  crossing  the  Rio  Grande,  a  wide  dusty  road,  about  a  mile 
in  length,  leads  to  Matamoros,  which  is  a  ]\h^xican  city  of  about 
9,000  inhabitants.  Its  houses  are  not  much  better  than  those  of 
Brownsville,  and  they  bear  many  marks  of  the  numerous  revolu- 
tions which  are  continually  taking  place  there.  Even  tb«'  British 
Consulate  is  riddled  with  the  bullets  fired  in  1861-2. 

The  Mexicans  look  very  much  like  their  Indian  forefathers, 
their  faces  being  extremely  dark,  and  their  hair  black  and  straight. 
They  wear  hats  with  the  most  enormous  brims,  and  delight  in 
covering  their  jackets  and  leather  breeches  with  embroidery. 

Some  of  the  women  are  rather  good-looking,  but  they  plaster 
their  heads  with  grease,  and  paint  their  faces  too  much.  Their 
dress  is  rather  like  the  Andalusian.  When  I  went  to  the  cathe- 
dral, I  found  it  crammed  with  kneeling  "women;  an  effigy  of  our 
Saviour  was  being  taken  down  from  the  cross  and  put  into  a  gold- 
en coffin,  the  priest  haranguing  all  the  time  about  His  sufferings. 


and  all  the  women  howling  most  dismally  as  if  they  were  being 
beaten. 

Matamorosis  now  infested  with  a  number  of  Jews,  whose  indus- 
try spoils  the  trade  of  the  established  merchants,  to  the  great  rage 
of  the  latter. 

It  suffers  much  from  drought,  and  there  had  been  no  rain  to 
speak  of  for  eleven  months. 

I  am  told  that  it  is  a  common  thing  in  Mexico  for  the  diligence 
to  arrive  at  its  destination  with  the  blinds  down.  This  is  a  sure 
sign  that  the  travelers,  both  male  and  female,  have  been  stripped 
by  robbers  nearly  to  the  skin.  A  certain  quantity  of  clothing  is 
then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  thrown  in  at  the  window,  to  enable 
them  to  descend.  Mr.  Behnsen  and  Mr.  Maloney  told  me  they 
had  seen  this  happen  several  times  ;  and  Mr.  Oet'ing  declared  that 
he  himself,  with  three  ladies,  arrived  at  the  city  of  Mexico  in 
this  predicament. 

^th  April  (Saturday.) — T  crossed  the  river  at  9  a.  m.,  and  got  a 
carriage  at  the  Mexican  side  to  take  my  baggage  and  myself  to 
the  Consulate  at  Matamoros.  The  driver  ill-treated  his  half-starv- 
ed animals  most  cruelly.  The  Mexicans  are  even  worse  than  the 
Spaniards  in  this  respect. 

I  called  on  Mr.  Oetling,  the  Prussian  Consul,  who  is  one  of  \\\^ 
richest  and,  most  prosperous  merchants  in  Matamoros,  and  a  very 
nice  fellow. 

After  dinner  we  went  to  dk  fandango,  or  open  air  fete.  About 
1500  people  were  gambling,  and  dancing  bad  imitations  of  Euro- 
pean dances. 

5th  April  (Sunday.)— Mr.  Zorn,  or  Don  Pablo  as  he  is  called 
here,  Her  Majesty's  acting  Vice-Consul,  is  a  quaint  and  most 
good-natured  little  man — a  Prussian  by  birth.  He  is  overwhelm- 
ed by  the  sudden  importance  he  has  acquired  from  bis  othce,  and 
by  the  amount  of  work  (for  which  he  gets  no  pay)  entailed  by  it, 
the  office  of  British  Consul  having  been  a  comparative  sinecure 
before  the  war. 

Mr.  Behnsen  is  head  of  the  firm.  The  principal  place  of  busi- 
ness is  at  San  Luis  Potosi,  a  considerable  city  in  the  interior  of 
Mexico.  All  these  foreign  merchants  complain  bitterly  of  the  per- 
secutions  and  extortion  they  have  to  endure  from  the  Government, 
which  are,  doubtless,  most  annoying;  but  nevertheless  they  ap- 
pear  to  fatten  on  the  Mexican  soil. 

I  crossed  to  Brownsville  to  see  General  Bee,  but  he  had  not 
returned  from  Boca  del  Rio. 

I  dined  with  Mr.  Oetling.  We  were  about  fourteen  at  dinner, 
principally  Germans,  a  very  merry  party.    Mr.  Oetling  is  supposed 


10 

to  have  made  a  million  of  dollars  for  his  firm, by  bold  cotton  spec- 
ulations, since  the  war. 

We  all  went  to  the  theatre  afterwards.  The  piece  was  an  at- 
tack upon  the  French  and  upon  Southern  institutions. 

eth  April  (Mondaj'.)— Mr.  Behnsen  and  Mr.  Colville  left,  for 
Bagdad  liiis  morning,  in  a  very  swell  ambulance  drawn  by  four 
gay  mules. 

At  noon  I  crossed  to  Brownsville,  and  visited  Captain  Lynch,  a 
quartermaster,  who  broke  opmi  a  great  box,  and  presented  me  with 
a  Confederate  felt  hat  to  travel  in.  He  then  took  me  to  the  gar- 
rison, and  introduced  me  to  Colonel  Buchel  of  the  3d  Texas 
regiment,  who  is  by  birth  a  German,  but  had  served  in  the  French 
army;  and  he  prepared  cock-tails  in  the  most  scientific  manner. 
I  returned  to  Matamoros  at  2.30  p.  m. 

Captain  Hancock  and  Mr.  Anderson  (the  paymaster)  arrived 
from  Bagdad  in  a  most  miserable  vehicle,  at  4  p.  m.  They  were 
a  mass  of  dust,  and  had  been  seven  hours  on  the  road,  after  hav- 
ing been  very  nearly  capsized  on  the  bar. 

There  was  a  great  firing  of  guns  and  squibs  in  the  afternoon,  in 
consequence  of  the  news  of  a  total  defeat  of  the  French  at  Puebla, 
with  a  loss  of  8,000  prisoners  and  70  pieces  of  cannon. 

Don  Pablo,  who  had  innocently  hoisted  his  British  flag  in  honor 
of  Captain  Hancock,  was  accused  by  his  brother  merchants  of 
making  a  demonstration  against  the  French. 

After  dinner  we  called  on  Mr.  Maloney,  whose  house  is  gorge- 
ously furnished,  and  who  has  a  pretty  wife. 

7ik  AprP  (Tuesday.) — Mr.  Maloney  sent  ns  his  carriage  to  con- 
duct Captain  Hancock, Mr.  Anderson,  and  myself  to  Brownsville- 

We  first  called  on  Colonels  Lucket  and  Buchel ;  the  former  is  a 
handsome  man,  a  doctor  by  profession,  well  informed  and  agree- 
able, but  most  bitter  against  the  Yankees. 

We  sat  for  an  hour  and  a  half  talking  with  these  officers  and 
drinking  endless  cocktails,  which  were  rather  good,  and  required 
five  or  six  difl'erent  liquids  to  make  them. 

We  then  adjourned  to  General  Bee's,  with  whom  we  had  ano- 
ther long  talk,  and  with  whom  we  discussed  more  cocktails. 

At  the  General's  we  were  introduced  to  a  well  dressed  good- 
looking  Englishman,  Mr.  ,  who,  however,  announced   to   us 

that  he  had  abjured  his  nationality  until  Great  Britain  rendered 
jiistieeto  the  South.*  Two  years  since,  this  individual  had  his 
house  burnt  down  ;  and  a  few  days  ago,  happening  to  hear  that  one 
of  the  incendiaries  was  on  the  Mexican  bank  of  the  river,  boasting 

*  It  seems  he  has  been  dreadfully  "  riled"  by  the  late  Peterhoff  affair. 


11 

of  the  exploit,  he  rowed  himself  across,  shot  his  man,  and  then 
rowed  back. 

I  was  told  afterwards  that,  notwithstanding  the  sentiments  he 

had  given  out  before   us,  Mr. is  a  stanch  Britisher,  always 

ready  to  produce  his  six-shooter  at  a  moment's  notice,  at  any  in- 
sult to  the  Queen  or  to  England. 

We  were  afterwards  presented  to .  rather  a  sinister-looking 

party,  with  long  yellow  hair*  down  to  his  shoulders.  This  is  the 
man  who  is  supposed  to  have  hanged  Montgomery. 

We  were  trpated  by  all  the  officers  with  the  greatest  considera- 
tion, and  conducted  to  the  place  of  embarkation  with  much  cere- 
mony. Colonel  Lucitett  declared  I  should  not  leave  Brownsville 
until  General  Magruder  arrives.     He  is  expected  every  day. 

Mr.  Malonoy  afterwards  told  us  that  these  officers,  having  given 
up  every  thing  for  their  country,  were  many  of  them  in  great  po- 
verty.   He  doubted  whether had  a  second  pair  of  boots   in 

the  world  ;  but  he  added  that,  to  do  honor  to  British  officers,  they 
would  scour  Brownsville  for  the  materials  for  cocktails. 

At  3  p.  M.  we  dined  with  Mr.  Maloney,  who  is  one  of  the  prin- 
gpal  and  most  enterprising  British  merchants  at  Matamoros,  and 
enjoyed  his  hospitality  till  9.30.  His  wine  was  good,  and  he  made 
us  drink  a  good  deal  of  it.  Mr.  Oetling  was  there,  and  his  sto- 
ries of  highway  robberies,  and  of  his  journeys  en  clieviise,  were 
most  amusing. 

At  10  p.  M.  Mr.  Oetling  conducted  us  to  \\\^  grand  fandango 
given  in  honor  of  the  reported  victory  over  the  French. 

A  Mexican  fandango  resembles' a  French  ducasse,  with  the  ad- 
ditional excitement  of  gambling.  It  commences  at  9.30,  and  con- 
tinues till  daylight.  The  scene  is  lit  up  by  numerous  paper  lan- 
terns of  various  colors.  A  number  of  benches  are  placed  so  as  to 
form  a  large  square,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  dancing  goes 
on,  the  men  and  women  gravely  smoking  all  the  time.  Outside 
the  benches  is  the  promenade  bounded  by  the  gambling-tables  and 
drinking-booths.  On  this  occasion  there  must  have  been  thirty  or 
forty  gambling-tables,  some  of  the  smaller  ones  presided  over  by 
old  women,  and  others  by  small  boys 

Monte  is  the  favorite  game,  and  the  smallest  silver  coin  can  be 
staked,  or  a  handful  of  doubloons.  Most  of  these  tables  were  pa- 
tronized by  crowds  of  all  classes  intent  on  gambling,  with  grave, 
serious  faces  under  their  enormous  hats.  They  never  moved  a 
muscle,  whether  they  won  or  lost. 

Although  the  number  of  people  at  these  fandangoes  is  very 
great,  yet  the  whole  affair  is  conducted  with  an  order  and  regu- 
larity not  to  be  equalled  in  an  assembly  of  a  much  higher  class  in 


12 

Europe.  If  there  ever  is  a  row,  it  is  invariably  caused  by  Tex- 
ans  from  Brownsville.  These  turbulent  spirits  are  at  once  seized 
•and  cooled  in  the  calaboose. 

8^//  April  (Wednesday.) — Poor  Don  Pablo  was  •*  talven  ill"  at 
breakfaj?t,  and  was  obliged  to  go  to  bed.  We  were  all  much  dis- 
tressed at  his  illness,  which  was  brought  on  by  over-anxiety  con- 
nected with  his  oflRcial  duties;  and  the  way  he  is  bothered  by 
English  and  "  Blue-nose"*  skippers  is  enough  to  try  any  one. 

Mr.  Behnsen  and  Mr.  Colville  returned  from  Bagdad  this  after- 
noon, much  disgusted  with  the  attractions  of  that  city. 

General  Bee's  orderly  was  assaulted  in  Matamorosr  yesterday 
by  a  renegado  with  a  six-shooter.  This  circumstance  prevented 
the  General  from  coming  to  Matamoros  as  he  had  intended. 

At  5  p.  M,  Captain  Hancock  and  I  crossed  over  to  Brownsviller 
and  were  conducted  in  a  very  smart  ambulan<;e  to  General  Bee's 
quarters,  and  afterwards  to  see  a  dress  parade  of  the  3d  Texas 
infantry. 

Lieutenant-colonel  Buchel  is  the  workivg  man  of  the  corps,  as 
he  is  a  professional  soldier.  The  men  were  well  clothed,  though 
great  variety  existed  in  their  uniforms.  Some  companies  wore  blue, 
some  gray,  sotne  had  French  kepis,  others  wide-awakes  and  Mexi- 
can hats.  They  were  a  fine  body  of  men,  and  really  drilled  un- 
commonly well.  They  went  through  a  sort  of  guard-mounting 
parade  in  a  most  creditable  manner.  About  a  hundred  out  of  a 
thousand  were  conscripts.! 

After  the  parade,  we  adjourned  to  Colonel  Luckett's  to  drink 
prosperity  to  the  3d  regiment. 

We  afterwards  had  a  very  agreeable  dinner  with  General  Bee; 
Colonels  Luekett  and  Buchel  dined  also.  The  latter  is  a  regular 
soldier  of  fortune,  lie  served  in  the  French  and  Turkish  armies, 
as  also  in  the  Carlist  and  the  i\Iexican  wars,  aiid  I  was  told  he  had 
been  a  principal  in  many  affairs  of  honor;  but  he  is  a  quiet  and  un- 
assuming little  man,  and  although  a  sincere  Southerner,  is  not 
nearly  so  violent  against  the  Yankees  as  Luekett. 

At  10  p.  M.  Captain  Hancock  and  myself  went  to  a  ball  given  by 
the  authorities  of  the  "  Hcroica  y  invicta  ciudad  de  Matumoros,^* 
(as  they  choose  to  call  it,)  in  honor  of  the  French  defeat.  General 
Bee  and  Colonel  Luekett  also  went  to  this  fete,  the  invitation  being 
the  first  civility  they  had  received  since  the  violation  of  the  Mexi- 
can soil  in  the  Davijj-Montgomery  affair.     They  were  dressed  in 

*  Nova-Scotian. 

t  During  all  my  travels  in  the  South  I  never  saw  a  regiment  so  well  cloth- 
ed or  so  well  drilled  as  this  one,  which  has  never  been  in  action,  or  been  ex  , 
pt*fied  to  much  hardship. 


13 

plain  clothes,  and  carried  pistols  concealed  in  case  of  accidents. 

We  all  drove  together  from  Brownsville  to  the  Consulate,  and 
entered  the  ball-room  en  masse. 

The  outsid6  of  the  municipal  hall  was  lit  up  with  some  splendor, 
and  it  was  graced  by  a  big  placard,  on  which  was  written  the 
amiable  sentiment,  "  Muera  Napoleon — viva  Mejico  !  "  Semi- 
successful  squibs  and  crackers  were  let  off  at  intervals.  In  the 
square  also  was  a  triumphal  arch,  with  an  inscription  to  the  effect 
that  "the  effete  nations  of  Europe  might  tremble."  I  made  great 
friends  with  the  gobernador  and  administrador,  who  endeavored 
to  entice  me  into  dancing,  but  I  excused  myself  by  saying  that 
Europeans  were  unable  to  dance  in  the  graceful  Mexican  fashion. 
Captain  Hancock  was  much  horrified  when  this  greasy-faced  go- 
bernador (who  keeps  a  small  shop)  stated  his  intention  of  visiting 
the  Immortalite  with  six  of  his  friends,  and  sleeping  on  board  for  a 
night  or  two. 

The  dances  were  a  sort  of  slow  valse,  and  between  the  dances 
the  girls  were  planted  up  against  the  wall,  and  not  allowed  to  be 
spoken  to  by  any  one.  They  were,  mostly  a  plain-headed,  badly 
painted  lot,  and  ridiculously  dressed. 

^th  April  (Thursday.) — Captain  Hancock  and  Mr.  AndersoH 
left  for  Bagdad  in  Mr.  Behnsen's  carriage  at  noon. 

I  crossed  over  to  Brownsville  at  11.30,  and  dined  with  Colonels 
Luckett,  Buchel,  and  Duff,  at  about  one  o'clock.  As  we  were  all 
colonels,  and  as  every  one  called  the  other  colonel  tout  court,  it 
was  difficult  to  make  out  which  was  meant.  They  were  obliged  to. 
confess  that  Brownsville  was  about  the  rowdiest  town  of  Texas^ 
which  was  the  most  lawless  State  in  the  Confederacy ;  but  they 
declared  they  had  never  seen  an  inoffensive  man  subjected  to  in- 
sult or  annoyance,  although  the  shooting-down  and  stringing-up 
systems  are  much  in  vogue,  being  almost  a  necessity  in  a  thinly- 
populated  State,  much  frequented  by  desperadoes  driven  away 
from  more  civilized  countries. 

Colonel  Luckett  gave  me  a  letter  to  General  Van  Dorn,  whom 
they  consider  the  heau  ideal  of  a  cavalry  soldier.  They  said 
from  time  immemorial  the  Yankees  had  been  despised  by  the  South- 
erners, as  a  race  inferior  to  themselves  in  courage  and  in  honorable 
sentiments. 

At  3  p.  M.  Colonel  Buchel  and  I  rode  to  Colonel  Duff^s  camp^ 
distant  about  thirteen  miles.  I  was  given  a  Mexican  saddle,  in 
which  one  is  forced  to  sit  almost  in  a  standing  position.  The  stir- 
rups are  very  long,  and  right  underneath  you,  which  throws  back 
the  feet 

Duff's  regiment  is  called  the  Partisan  Rangers.  Although  a 
fine  lot  of  men,  they  doA't  look  well  at  a  foot  parade,  on  account 


14 

of  the  small  amount  of  drill  they  have  undergone,  and  the  extreme 
disorder  of  their  clutliiug.  They  are  armed  with  carbines  and  six- 
shooters. 

I  saw  some  men  come  in  from  a  scouting  expedition  against 
the  Indians,  300  miles  off.  They  told  me  that  they  were  usually 
in  the  habit  of  scalping  an  Indian  when  they  caught  him,  and  that 
they  never  spared  one,  as  they  were  such  an  untamal)le  and  feroci- 
ous race.  Anotlier  habit  which  they  have  learned  from  the  Indi- 
ans is,  to  squat  on  their  heels  in  a  most  peculiar  manner.  It  has 
an  absurd  and  extraordinary  effect  to  see  a  number  of  them  so 
squatting  in  a  row  or  in  a  circle. 

The  regiment  had  been  employed  in  quelling  a  counter-revolu- 
tion of  Unionists  in  Texas.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  rancor  with 
"Which  they  si)ol^e  of  these  renegadoes,  as  they  called  them,  who 
Were  principally  Germans. 

When  [  suggested  to  some  of  the  Texans  that  they  might  as 
■well  bury  the  body  of  Montgomery  a  little  better,  they  did  not  at 
all  agree  with  me,  but  said  it  ought  not  to  have  been  buried  at  all, 
but  left  hanging  as  a  w^arning  to  other  evil-doers. 

With  regard  to  the  contentment  of  their  slaves.  Colonel  Duff 
pointed  out  a  good  number  they  had  with  them,  who  had  only  to 
cross  the  river  tor  freedom  if  they  wished  it. 

Colonel  Buchel  and  I  slept  in  Colonel  DuflTs  tent,  and  at  night 
we  were  serenaded.  The  officers  and  men  really  sang  dncommonly 
well,  and  they  finished  with  '•  God  save  the  Queen  !" 

Colonel  Duff  comes  from  Perth.  He  was  one  of  the  leading 
characters  in  the  secession  of  Texas  ;  and  he  said  his  brother  was 
a  banker  in  Dunkeld. 

H)th  Ajjril  (Friday.)— We  foused  up  at  daylight,  and  soon  af- 
terwards Colonel  Duff  paraded  some  of  his  best  men,  to  show  off 
the  Texan  horsemanship,  of  which  they  are  very  proud.  I  saw 
them  lasso  cattle,  and  catch  them  by  the  tail  at  full  gallop,  and 
throw  them  by  slewing  them  around.  This  is  called  tailing. — 
They  pick  small  objects  off  the  ground  when  at  full  tilt,  and,  in 
their  peculiar  fashion,  are  beautiful  riders;  but  they  confessed  to 
me  they  could  not  ride  in  an  English  saddle,  and  Colonel  Duff  told 
me  that  they  could  not  jump  a  fence  at  all.  They  were  all  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  hear  what  I  thought  of  the  performance,  and 
their  thorough  good  opinion  of  themselves  was  most  amusing. 

At  9  o'clock  Colonel  Buchel  and  I  rode  back  to  Brownsville ; 
but  as  we  lost  our  way  twice,  and  were  enveloped  in  clouds  of 
dust,  it' was  not  a  very  satisfactory  ride.  Poor  Captain  Hancock 
must  be  luxuriating  at  Bagdad ;  for  with  this  wind  the  bar  must 
be  impassable  to  the  boldest  mariner. 


15  \ 

In  the  evening,  a  Mr. ,  a  Texan  Unionist,  or  renegade,  gave 

ns  his  sentiments  at  the  Consulate,  and  drank  a  deal  of  brandy. 
He  finished,  however,  by  the  toast,  "Them  as  wants  to  fight,  let 
'em  fight— I  don't." 

1U7^   April  (Saturday.)— Mr.  ,  the  Unionist,  came  to  me 

this  morning,  and  said,  in  a  contrite  manner,  "  I  hope  Kernel,  that 
in  the  fumes  of  brandy  I  didn't  say  anything  ofi'ensive  last  night." 
I  assured  him  that  he  hadn't.  I  have  now  become  comparatively 
accustomed  and  reconciled  to  the  necessity  of  shaking  hands  and 
drinking  brandy  with  every  one.* 

The  ambulance  returned  from  Bagdad  to-day.  Captain  Han- 
cock had  managed  to  cress  the  bar  in  Mr.  Oetling's  steamer  or 
lighter,  but  was  very  nearly  capsized. 

I  went  to  a  grand  supper,  given  by  Mr.  Oetling  in  honor  of  Mr. 
Hill's  departure  for  the  city  of  Mexico.  This,  it  appears,  is  the 
custom  of  the  country. 

12tk  April  (Sunday.) — I  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  Don 
Pablo,  Behnsen,  Oteling  &  Co.,  all  of  whom  were  in  rather  weak 
health  on  account  of  last  night's  supper. 

The  excellent  Maloney  insisted  on  providing  me  with  preserved 
meats  and  brandy  for  my  arduous  journey  through  Texas.  I  feel 
extremely  grateful  for  the  kindness  of  all  these  gentlemen,  who 
rendered  my  stay  in  Matamoros  very  agreeable.  The  hotel  would 
have  been  intolerable.  ^ 

I  crossed  to  Brownsville  at  3  p.  m.,  where  I  was  hospitably  re- 
ceived by  my  friend  Ituria,  who  confesses  to  having  made  a  deal  of 
money  lately  by  cotton  speculations.    I  attended  evening  parade, 

and  saw  General  Bee,  Colonels  Luckett,  Buchel,  Duff,   and . 

The  latter  (who  hanged  Montgomery)  improves  on  acquaintance. 

General  Bee  took  me  for  a  drive  in  his  ambulance,  and  intro- 
duced me  to  Major  Leon  Smith,  who  captured  the  Harriet  Lane. 
The  latter  pressed  me  most  vehemently  to  wait  until  General  Ma- 
gruder's  arrival,  and  he  promised,  if  I  did  so,  that  I  should  be  sent 
to  San  Antonio  in  a  first-rate  ambulanc-.  Major  Leop  Smith  is  a 
seafaring  man  by  profession,  and  was  put  by  General  ^agruder  in 
command  of  one  of  the  small  steamers  which  captured  the  Harriet 
Lane  at  Galveston,  the  crews  of  the  steamers  being  composed  of 
Texan  cavalry  soldiers.  He  told  me  that  the  resistance  offered 
after  boarding  was  feeble;  and  he  declared  that,  had  not  the  re- 
mainder of  the  Yankee  vessels  escaped  unfairly  under  flag  of  truce, 
they  would  likewise  have  been  taken. 

After  the  Harriet  Lane  had  been  ca]^tured,  she  was  fired  into 
by  the  other  ships;  and  Major  Smith  told  me  that,  his  blood  being 

*Tlii8  necessity  does  not  exist  except  in  Texas. 


16 

up,  he  sent  the  ex-master  of  the  Harriet  Lane  to  Commodore  Ren- 
shaw,  with  a  message  that,  unless  the  firing  was  stopped,  he  would 
massaCREE  the  captured  crew.  After  heanng  this,  Commodore 
Renshaw  blew  up  his  ship,  with  himself  in  her,  after  having  given 
an  order  to  the  remainder,  sauve  qui  pent. 

13fk  April  (]\ronday.) — T  breakfasted  with  General  Bee,  and 
took  leave  of  all  my  Brownsville  friends. 

M'Carthy  is  to  give  me  four  times  the  value  of  my  gold  in  Con- 
federate notes  .♦ 

We  left  Brownsville  for  San  Antonio  at  11  a.  m.  Our  vehicle 
was  a  roomy,  but  rather  overloaded,  four-wheel  carriage,  with  a 
canvas  roof,  and  four  mules.  Besides  M'Carthy,  there  was  a  third 
passenger,  in  the  sh?pe  of  a  young  merchant  of  the  Hebrew  per- 
suasion. Two  horses  were  to  join  us,  to  help  us  through  the  deep 
sand. 

The  country,  on  leaving  Brownsville,  is  quite  flat,  the  road,  a 
natural  one,  sandy  and  very  dusty,  and  there  are  many  small  trees, 
principally  mesquites.  After  we  had  proceeded  seven  miles,  we 
halted  to  water  the  mules. 

At  2  p.  M.  a  new  character  appeared  upon  the  scene,  in  the 
shape  of  an  elderly,  rough-faced,  dirty-looking  man,  who  rode  up, 
mounted  on  a  sorry  nag.  To  my  surprise  he  was  addressed  by 
M'Carthy  with  the  title  of  "Judge,"  and  asked  what  he  had  done 
with  our  other  horse.  The  Judge  replied  that  it  had  already 
broken  down,  and  had  been  left  behind.  M'Carthy  informs  me 
that  this  worthy  really  is  a  magistrate  or  sort  of  judge  in  his  own 
district;  but  he  now  appears  in  the  capacity  of  assistant  mule- 
driver,  and  is  to  make  himself  generally  useful.  I  could  not  help 
feeling  immensely  amused  at  this  specimen  of  a  Texan  judge. 
We  started  again  about  3  p.m.,  and  soon  emerged  from  the  mes- 
quite  bushes  into  an  open  prairie  eight  miles  long,  quite  desolate, 
and  producing  nothing  but  a  sort  of  rush  ;  after  which  we  entered 
a  chaparral,  or  thick  covert  of  mesquite  trees  and  high  prickly 
pears.  These  border  the  track,  and  are  covered  with  bits  of  cot- 
ton torn  from  the  endless  trains  of  cotton  wagons.  We  met  several 
of  these  wagons.  Generally  there  were  ten  oxen  or  six  mules  to 
fi  wagon  carrying  ten  bales,  but  in  deep  sand,  more  animals  are 
necessary.  '^I'hey  journey  very  slowly  towards  Brownsville,  from 
places  in  the  interior  of  Texas  at  least  five  hundred  miles  distant. 
Want  of  water  and  other  causes  make  the  drivers  and  animals 
undergo  much  hardship. 

The  Jud^e  rides  on  in  front  of  us  on  his  "  Rosinante,"  to  en- 

*  The  value  of  Confederate  paper  has  since  decreased.  At  Charleston  I. 
was  offered  six  to  one  for  my  gold,  and  at  liichmond  eight  to  one. 


17 

courage  the  mules.    His  back  view  reminds  one'  in  a  ludicrous 
manner  of  the  pictures  of  Dr.  Syntax. 

Mr.  Sargent,  our  portly  driver,  cheers  his  animals  by  the  con- 
tinual repetition  of  the  sentenre,  "  Get  up,  now,  you  great  long- 
eared  G — d  d — d  son  of  a ." 

At  5  p.  M.  we  reached  a  well,  with  a  farm  or  rancho  close  to  it. 
Here  we  halted  for  the  night.  A  cotton  train  was  encamped  close 
to  us,  and  a  lugulirious  half-naked  teamster  informed  us  that  three 
of  his  oxen  had  been  stolen  last  night. 

In  order  to  make  a  fire,  we  were  forced  to  enter  the  chaparral 
for  wood,  and  in  doing  so,  we  ran  nrany  prickles  into  our  legs, 
■which  caused  us  great  annoyance  afterwards,  as  they  fester,  if  not 
inunediat^ly  pulled  out. 

The  water  at  this  well  was  very  salt,  and  made  very  indifferent 
coffee.  M'Carthy  called  it  the  *'  meanest  halting-place  we  shall 
have." 

At  8  p.  M.  M'Carthy  spread  a  bullock-rug  on  the  sand  near  the 
carriage,  on  which  we  should  have  slept  very  comfortably,  had  it 
noH  been  for  the  prickles,  the  activity  of  many,  tleas,  and  the  in- 
cursions of  wild  hogs.  Mr.  Sargent  and  the  Judge,  with  much 
presence  of  mind,  had  encamped  seventy  yards  off,  an^  left  to  us 
the  duty  of  driving  away  these  hogs.  1  was  twice  awoke  by  one 
of  these  unclean  animals  breathing  in  my  face. 

We  did  about  twenty-orje  miles  to-day. 

14^1^  April  (Tuesday.) — When  we  roused  up.at  4  a.  m.  we  found 
our  clothe.s  saturated  with  the  heavy  dew  ;  also,  that,  notwithstand- 
ing our  e:rert?ions,  the  hogs  had  devoured  the  greatest  part  of  our 
pet  kid,  our  ofily  fresh  meat. 

After  feeding  oiir  mules  upon  the  Indian  corn  we  had  brought 
with  us,  and  drinking  a  little  more  salt  water  coffee,  the  Judge 
"  hitched  in,"  and  we  got  under  way  at  5:30  a.  m.  The  country 
just  the  same  as  yesterday — a  dead  level  of  sand,  mesquite  trees, 
and  prickly  pears. 

At  7:30  A.  M.  we  reached  "Leatham's  rancho,"  and  watered  our 
mules.  As  the  water  was  tolerable,  we  refilled  our  water-barrels. 
I  also  washed  my  face,  during  which  operation  Mr.  Sargeut  ex- 
pressed great  astonishment,  not  uniningled  with  contempt. 

At  Leatham's  we  met  a  wealthy  Texfein  speculator  and  contrac- 
tor, called  Major  or  Judge  Hart. 

I  find  that  our  Judge  is  also  an  M.  P.,  and  that,  in  his  capacity 
as  a  member  of  the  Tevan  Legislature,  he  is  entitled  to  be  styled 
the  Honorable . 

At  9  A.  M.  we  halted  in  the  middle  of  a  prairie,  on  which  there 
was  a  little  grass  for  the  mules,  and-  we  prepared  tQ  eat.  In  the 
2 


18 

midst  of  our  cookingr.  two  deer  came  came  up  quite  close  to  us,  and 
could  easily  have  been  killed  with  rifles. 

We  saw  quantities  of  rat-rancbes  which  are  a  big  sort  of  mole- 
hills, composed  of  cow-dung,  slicks  and  earth,  built  by  the  rats. 

Mr.  Sargent,  our  conductor,  is  jgi  very  rough  customer — a  fat, 
mijldle-aged  man,  who  never  opens  his  mouth  without  an  oath, 
strictly  American  in  its  character.  He  and  the  Judge  are  always 
snarling  at  one  another,  and  both  are  much  addicted  to  liquor. 

We  live  principally  on  bacon  and  coffee,  but  as  the  water  and 
the  bacon  are  both  very  salt,  this  is  very  inconvenient.  We  have, 
however,  got  some  claret,  and  plenty  of  brandy. 

During  the  mid-day  halts,  Mr.  Sargent  is  in  the  habit  of  cool- 
ing himself  i>y  removing  his  trousers  (or  pants)  and,  having  gorged 
himself,  he  lies  down  and  issues  his  edicts  to  the  Judge  as  to  the 
treatment  of  the  mules. 

'  At  2:30  the  M.  P.  hitched  in  again,  and  at  2:45  we  reached  a 
salt  water  arm  of  the  sea  called  the  "  Arroyo  del  Colorado,"  about 
eighty  yards  broad,  which  we  crossed  in  a  ferryboat.  Half  an 
hour  later  we  "  struck  water"  again,  which  being  superior  to  Lea- 
tbam's,  we  filled  up. 

We  are  continually  passing  cotton  trains  going  to  Brownsville, 
also  government  wagons  with  stores  for  the  interior.  Near  every 
well  is  a  small  farm  or  ranche,  a  miserable  little  wooden  edifice  sur- 
rounded by  a  little  cultivation.  The  natives  all  speak  Spanish, 
and  wear  the  Mexican  dress. 

M'Carthy  is  very  proud  of  his  knowledge  of  the  country,  in 
spite  of  which  he  is  often  out  in  his  calculations.  The  ditferent 
tracks  are  so  similar  to  one  another,  they  are  easily  mistaken. 

At  4:45  p.  M.  we  halted  at  a  much  better  place  than  yesterday. 
We  are  obliged  to  halt  where  a  little  grass  can  be  found  for  our 
mules. 

Soon  after  we  had  unpacked  for  the  night,  six  Texan  Rangers, 
of  "Wood's"  regiment,  rode  up  to  us.  They  were  very  pictur- 
esque fellows ;  tall,  thin,  and  ragged,  but  quite  gentlemanlike  in 
their  manners. 

We  are  always  to  sleep  in  the  open  air  until  we  arrive  at  San 
Antonio,  and  1  find  my  Turkish  lantern  most  useful  at  ni^ht.* 

15th  April  (Wednesday.)—!  slept  well  last  night  in  spite  of  the 
ticks  and  fleas,  and  we  started  at  5:30  a.  m.  After  passing  a  dead 
rattlesnake  eight  feet  long,  we  reached  water  at  7  a.  m. 

**  A  lantern  for  a  candle,  made  of  white  linen  and  wire,  which  collapses 
when  not  in  use.  They  are  always  used  in  the-  strMts  of  Constautlnuple. 
The  Texans  adiiur«d  it  ia>men«ely. 


19 

At.  9  A.  M.  we  espied  the  cavalcade  of  General  Magruder  pass- 
ing us  by  a  parallel  track  about  half  a  mile  distant.  M'Carthy 
and  I  jumped  out  of  the  carriage,  and  I  ran  across  the  prairie  to 
out  him  off,  which  I  just  succeeded  in  doing  by  borrowing  the 
spare  horse  of  the  last  man  in  the  train. 

I  galloped  up  to  the  front,  and  found  the  General  riding  with  a 

lady  who  was  introduced  to  me  as  Mrs. ,  an  undeniably  prelty 

woman,  wife  to  an  officer  on  Magruder's  staff,  and  she  is  naturally 
the  object  of  intense  attention  to  all  the  good-looking  officers  who 
accompany  the  General  through  this  desert. 

General  Magruder,  who  commands  in  Texas,  is  a  fine  soldier- 
like man,  of  about  fifty-five,  with  broad  shoulders,  a  florid  com- 
plexion, and  bright  eyes.  He  wears  his  whiskers  and  mustaches 
in  the  English  fashion,  and  was  dressed  in  the  Confederate  gray 
uniform.  lie  was  kind  enough  to  beg  that  I  would  turn  back  and 
accompany  him  in  his  tour  through  Texas.  He  had  heard  of  my 
arrival,  and  was  fully  determined  that  I  should  do  this.  He  asked 
after  several  officers  of  my  regiinentr  whom  he  had  known  when 
he  was  on  the  Canadian  frontier.  He  is  a  Virginian,  a  great 
talker,  and  has  always  been  a  great  ally  of  English  officers. 

He  insisted  that  M'Carthy  and  I  should  turn  and  dine  with 
him,  promising  to  provide  us  with  horses  to  catch  up  Mr.  Sargent. 

Aft^r  we  had  agreed  to  do  this,  I  had  a  long  and  agreeable  con- 
versation with  the  General,  who  spoke  of  the  Puritans  with  in- 
tense disgust,  and  of  the  first  importation  of  them  as  "  that  pes- 
tifcrous  crew  of  the  Mayflower  ;"  but  he  is  by  no  means  rancorous 
against  individual  Yankees.  He  spoke  very  favorably  of  McClel- 
lan,  whom  he  knew  to  be  a  gentleman,  clever,  and  personally 
brave,  though  he  might  lack  moral  courage  to  face  responsibility. 
Magruder  had  commanded  the  Confederate  troops  at  Yorktown 
which  opposed  McUlellan's  advance.  He  told  me  the  different 
dodges  he  had  resorted  to,  to  blind  and  deceive  the  latter  as  to 
bis  (Magruder's)  strength  ;  and  he  spoke  of  the  intense  relief  and 
amusement  with  which  he  had  at  length  seen  McClellan  with  his 
magnificent  army  begin  to  break  ground  before  miserable  earth- 
works, defended  only  by  8,000  men.  Hooker  was  in  his  regiment, 
and  was  "  essentially  a  mean  man  and  a  liar."  Of  Lee  and  Long- 
street  he  spoke  in  terms  of  the  highest  admiration. 

Magruder  was  an  artilleryman,  and  has  been  a  good  deal  in 
Europe;  and  having  been  !i  uch  stationed  on  the  Canadian  fron- 
tier, he  became  acquainted  with  many  British  officers,  particularly 
those  in  the  7th  Hussars  and  Guards. 

He  bad  gained  much  credit  from  his  recent  successes  at  Galves- 
ton and  Sabine  Pass,  in  \vhich  he  had  the  temerity  to  attack  hea- 
vily armed  vessels  of  war  with  wretched  river  steamfers  manned 
by  Texan  cavalrymen. 


20 

His  principal  reason  for  visiting  Brownsville  was  to  settle  about 
the  cotton  trade.  He  had  issued  an  edict  that  half  the  value  of 
cotton  exported  must  be  imported  in  goods  for  the  benetit  of  the 
country  (government  stores  )  Tlie  President  had  condemned  this 
order  as  illegal  and  despotic. 

The  officers  on  Magruder's  Staff  are  a  very  gqod-lool;ing,  gen- 
tlemanlike set  of  men.  Their  names  are — Mjijor  Pendletdn,  Ma- 
jor Wray,  Captain  I)e  Ponte,  Captain  Alston,  Captain  Turner, 
Lieutenant'Colonel  M'Neil,  Captain  Dwyer,  Dr.  Benien,  Lieuten- 
ant Stanard,  lieutenant  Yancy,  and  M<ij(jr  ^higruder.  'J'he  lat- 
ter is  a  nephew  to  the  General,  and  is  a  particularly  good-lo(»king 
young  fellow.  They  all  live  with  their  chief  on  an  extremely 
agreeable  footing,  and  form  a  very  pleasant  society.  At  dinner  I 
was  put  in  the  post  of  honor,  which  is  always  fought  for  with  nmch 

acrimony — viz.,  the    right  of  Mrs.    .      After  dinner  we   had 

numerous  songs.  Boih  the  General  and  his  nephew  sang; 
so  also  did  Captain  Alston,  whose  corpulent  frame,  however,  was 
too  much  for  the  feeble  camp-stool,  which  caused  his  sudden  dis- 
disappearance  in  the  midst  of  a  song  with  a  loud  crash.  Captain 
Dwyer  played  the  fiddle  very  well,  and  an  aged  and  slightly  ele- 
vated militia  general  brewed  the  punch  and  made  several  '-el- 
egant" speeches.  The  latter  was  a  rough-faced  old  hero,  and 
gloried  in  the  name  of  M'Guflfin.  On  these  festive  occasions  General 
Magruder  wears  a  red  woollen  cap,  and  fills  the  president's  chair 
with  great  aptitude. 

It  was  11.30  before  I  could  tear  myself  away  from  this  agree- 
able party  ;  but  at  length  I  effected  my  exit  amidst  a  profusion  of 
kind  expressions,  and  laden  with  heaps  oMetters  of  introduction. 

..  16iA  ^pnZ  (Thursday.) — Now  our  troubles  commenced.  Seat- 
ed in  Mexican  saddles,  and  mounted  on  raw-boned  mustangs, 
whose  energy  had  been  a  good  deal  impaired  by  a  month's  steady 
traveling  on  bad  food,  M'Carthy  and  I  left  the  hospitable  mess- 
tent  about  midnight,  and  started  in  search  of  Mr.  Sargent  and  his 
vehicle.     We  were  under  the  guidance  of  two  Texan  Bangers. 

About  daylight  we  hove  in  sight  of  "Los  Animos,"  a  desolate 
farm  house,  in  the  neighborhood  of  which  Mr.  Sargent  was  suppos- 
ed to  be  encamped;  but  nowhere  could  we  find  any  traces  of  iiim. 

We  had  now  reached  the  confines  of  a  dreary  region,  sixty  miles 
in  extent,  called  "  The  Sands,"  in  coniparison  with  which  the  prai- 
rie and  chaparral  were  luxurious. 

The  sand  being  deep  and  the  wind  high,  we  could  not  trace 
the  carriage;  but  we  soon  acquired  a  certainty  that  our  perfidious 
Jehu  had  decamped,  leaving  us  behind. 

We  floundered  about  in  the  sand,  cursing  our  bad  luck,  cursing 
Mr.  Sargent,  and  even  the  good  Magruder,  as  the  indirect  cause  of 


21 

our  wretchedness.  Our  situation,  indeed,  was  sufficiently  deplora- 
ble. We  were  without  food  or  water  in  the  midst  of  a  desert : 
so  were  our  horses  which  were  nearly  done  up.  Our  bones  ached 
from  the  Mexican  saddles  :  and  to  complete  our  misery,  the  two 
Eangers  began  to  turn  restive  and  talk  of  returning  with  the  hor- 
ses. At  this,  the  climax  of  our  misfortunes,  I  luckily  hit  upon  a 
Mexican,  who  gave  us  intelligence  of  our  carria.ire ;  and  with  re- 
newed spirits,  hut  very  groggy  horses,  we  gave  chase. 

But  never  did  Mr.  Sargent's  mules  walk  at  such  a  pace  ;  and  it 
was  9  A.  M.  before  we  overtook  them.  My  animal  had  been  twice 
on  his  head,  and  M'Carthy  was  green  in  the  face  with  fatigue  and 
rage.  Mr.  Sargent  received  us  with  the  greatest  affability,  and  we 
were  sensible  enough  not  to  quarrel  with  him,  although  M'Carthy 
had  made  many  allusions  as  to  the  advisability  of  shooting  him. 

We  had  been  nine  and  a  half  hours  in  the  saddle,  and  were  a 
good  deal  exhausted.  Our  sulky  Texan  guides  were  appeased  with 
bac  )n,  coffee,  and  $5  in  coin. 

We  halted  till  2  p.  m.,  and  then  renewed  our  struggle  through 
the  deep  sandy  wilderness;  but  though  the  services  of  the  Judge's 
horse  were  put  into  requisition,  we  could'nt  progress  faster  than 
two  miles  an  hour. 

Mule  driving  is  an  art  of  itself,  and  Mr.  Sargent  is  justly  consid- 
ered a  professor  at  it. 

He  is  always  yelling — generally  imprecations  of  a  serio-comic 
character.  He  rarely  flogs  his  mules  ;  but  when  one  of  them  rou- 
ses his  indignation  by  extraordinary  laziness,  he  roars  out,  "  Come 
here.  Judge,  with  a  big  club,  and  give  him  h — 11."  While  the  ani- 
mal is  receiving  such  discipline  as  comes  up  to  the  Judge's  idea  of 
the  infernal  regions,  Mr.  Sargent  generally  remarks,  "  I  wish  you 
was  Uncle  Abe,  I'd  make  you  move,  you  G — d  d — n   son   of  a 

b '-."    His  idea  of  perfect  happiness  seems  to  be  to  have  Messrs. 

Lincoln  and  Seward  in  the  shafts.  Mules  travel  much  better  when 
other  mules  are  in  front  of  them ;  and  another  dodge  to  which  Mr. 
Sar^nt  continually  resorts  is,  to  beat  the  top  of  the  carriage  and 
kick  the  foot-board,  which  makes  a  noise  and  gratifies  the  mules 
quite  as  much  a.s  licking  them.  Mr.  Sargent  accounts  for  his  hu- 
manity by  saying,  "it's  the  worst  plan  in  the  world  licking  nig- 
gers or  mules,  because  tlie  more  you  licks  'em,  the  more  they  wants 
it." 

We  reached  or  •♦  struck"  water  at  5.30  p.  m  ;  but,  in  spite  of  its 
good  reputation,  it  was  so  salt  as  to  be  scarcely  drinkable.  A 
number  of  cotton  wagons,  and  three  carriages  belonging  to  Mr. 
Ward,  were  also  en(  amped  with  us. 

We  have  only  made  sixteen  miles  to-day. 

nth  April  (Friday.) — Having  spent  last  night  in  a  Mexican 


22 

saddle,  our  bullock-rug  in  the  sand  appeared  to  me  a  most  luxu- 
rious bed. 

We  hifched  in  at  5  a.  m.,  and  struck  wafer  at  9  a.  m.,  which, 
though  muddy  in  appearance,  was  not  so  i)ad  to  drink, 

I  walked  ahead  wilh  the  Jnd<;e,  who,  when  sober,  is  a  well-in- 
formed and  sensible  man.  31  r.  Sargent  and  I  are  great  friends, 
and  rough  as  he  is.  we  get  on  capitally  together. 
'  A  Mr.  Ward,  with  three  vehicles — a  rival  of  Mr.  Sargent's — is 
traveling  in  our  company.  He  drove  his  buggy,  against  a  tree 
and  knocked  its  top  off,  ti»  the  intense  delight  of  the  latter. 

We  breakfasted  under  difficulties.  The  wind  being  high,  it 
drove  up  the  sand  in  clouds- and  spoiled  our  food. 

Our  traveling  companion   Mr. ,  is  a  poor  little  weakly  Is- 

realite,  but  very  inoffensive,  although  he  spt-aks  with  a  horrible 
Yankee  twang,  which  Mr.  Sargent  and  the  Judge  are  singularly 
free  from. 

We  went  on  again  at  2.  p.  m.  I  had  a  long  talk  with  a  big 
mulatto  slave  woman,  who  was  driving  one  of  Ward's  wagons. 
She  fold  me  she  had  been  raised  in  Tennessee,  and  that  three 
years  ago  she  had  been  taken  from  her  mistress  for  a  bad  debt,  to 
their  m.utual  sorrow.  "Both,'  she  said,  "cried  bitterly  at  part- 
ing." She  doesn't  like  San  Antonio  at  all,  "  too  much  hanging 
-and  murdering  for  me,  she  said.  She  had  seen  a  man  hanged  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  just  in  front  of  her  door. 

Mr.  Sargent  bought  two  chickens  and  some  eggi^  at  a  rancho, 
but  one  of  the  chickens  got  up  a  tree,  and  was  caught  and  eaten 
by  the  Ward  fa«;tion.  Our  camp  to-night  looks  very  pretty  by, 
the  light  of  the  fires. 

ISth  April  (Saturday.) — At  daylight  we  discovered,  to  our  hor- 
ror, that-  three  of  our  mules  were  absent:  but  after  an  hour's 
search  they  were  brought  back  in  triumph  by  the  Judge. 

This  delayed  our  start  till  6.30  a.  m. 

I  walked  ahead  again  with  the  Judge,  who  explained  to  me 
thas  he  was  a  "  senator,"  or  member  of  the  Upper  House  of  Texas 
— "just  like  your  Hous«  of  Lords,"  he  said.  He  gets  $5  a  day 
whilst  sitting,  and  is  elected  for  four  years.* 

We  struck  wafer  at  8.30  a.  m.,  and  bought  a  lamb  for  a  dollar. 
We  also  bought  some  beef,  which  in  this  country  is  dried  in  strips 
by  the  sun,  after  being  cut  off  the  bullock,  and  it  keeps  good  for 
any  length  of  time.  To  cook  it  the  strips  are  thrown  for  a  few 
minutes  on  hot  embers. 

*  I  was  afterwards  told  that  the  Judge's  term  of  service  had  expired. 
El  Paso  was  his  district. 


23 

One  of  our  mules  was  kicked  lasfc  night.  Mr.  Sargent  rubbed 
the  wound  with  brandy,  which  did  it  m.iich  good. 

Soon  after  leaving  this  well,  Mr.  Sargent  discovered  that,  by 
following  (he  track  of  Mr.  Ward's  wagons,  he  had  lost  the  way. 
He  sWore  dreadfully,  and  solaced  himself  with  so  much  gin 
that  when  we  arrived  at  Sulphur  Creek  at  12  30,  both  he  and  the 
Judge,  were,  by  their  own  confession,  quite  tight. 

We  halted,  ate  some  salt  meat,  and  bathed  in  this  creek,  which 
is  about  forty  yards  broad  and  three  feet  deep. 

Mr.  Sargent's  extreme  "  tightness"  caused  him  to  fall  asleep  on 
the  box  when  we  started  again,  but  the  more  seasoned  Judge  drove 
the  mules. 

The  signs  of  getting  out  of  the  sands  now  began  to  be  appa- 
rent; and  at  5  p.  m.  we  were  able  to  halt  at  a  very  decent  place 
with  grass,  but  wo  water.  We  suffered  here  for  want  of  water,  our 
stock  being  very  nearly  expended. 

Mr.  Sargent,  who  was  now  comparatively  sober,  killed  the  sheep 
mostscientifically  at  5.30  p.  m.  :  and  at  6.30  we  were  actually  de- 
vouring it,  and  found  it  very  good.  Mr.  Sargent  cooked  it  by  the 
simple  process  of  stewing  junks  of  it  in  a  frying-pan,  but  we  had 
ouly  just  enough  water  to  do  this. 

Idth  April  (Sunday.) — At  1  a.  m.  this  morning  our  slumbers 
on  the  bullock-rug  were  disturbed  by  a  sudden  and  most  violent 
thunder-storm.  M'Carthy  and  I  had  only  just  time  to  rush  into 
the  carriage,  and  hustle  our  traps  underneath  it,  when  the  rain  be- 
gan to  .descend  in  torrents. 

We  got  inside  with  the  little  Jew  (who  was  much  alarmed  by 
the  thunder;)  whilst  Mr.  Sargent  and  the  Judge  crept  underneath. 

The  rain  lasted  two  hours  ;  and  at  daylight  we  were  able  to  re- 
fresh ourselves  by  drinking  the  water  from  the  puddles,  and  effect 
a  start. 

But  fate  seemed  averse  to  our  progress.  No  sooner  had  we  es- 
caped from  the  sand  than  we  fell  into  the  mud,  which  was  still 
worse. 

We  toiled  on  till  11.30  a.  m.,  at  which  hour  we  reached  "King's 
Rancko,"  which  for  several  days  I  had  heard  spoken  of  as  a  sort  of 
Elysium,  marking  as  it  does  the  termination  of  the  sands,  and  the 
commencement  of  comparative  civilization. 

We  halted  in  front  of  the  house,  and  after  cooking  and  eating,  I 
walked  up  to  the  "  rancho,"  which  is  a  comfortable,  well-furnished 
wooden  building. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  King  had  gone  to  Brownsville ;  but  we  were  re- 
ceived by  Mrs.  Bee,  the  wife  of  the  Brownsville  general,  who  had 
heard  I  was  on  the  road. 


24 

She  is  a  nice  lively  little  woman,  a  red-hot  Southerner,  glorying 
in  the  facts  that  she  has  no  Northern  relations  or  friends,  and  that 
she  is  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England. 

Mr.  King  first  came  to  Texas  as  a  steamboat  captain,  but  now 
owns  an  immense  tract  (»f  cMtnnlry,  with  16,000  head  of  catile,  sit- 
uared,  however,  in  a  wild  and  almost  uninhabited  district.  King's 
Kancho  is  distant  fr(»m  Brownsville  only  125  miles,  and  we  have 
been  six  days  in  reaciiing  it. 

After  drying  our  clothes  and  our  food  after  the  rain  of  last  night, 
we  started  again  at 2.30  p.m. 

We  now  entered  a  boundless  and  most  fertile  prairie,  upon  which, 
as  far  as  the  c-ye  could  reach,  cattle  were  feeding. 

Bulls  and  cows,  horses  and  mares,  came  to  stare  at  us  as  we 
passed.  They  all  seemed  sleek  and  in  good  condition,  yet  they 
get  nothing  but  what  they  can  pick  up  on  the  prairie. 

I  saw  a  man  on  horseback  kill  a  rabbit. with  his  revolver.  I  also 
saw  a  scorpion  for  the  first  time. 

We  halted  at  5.30  p.  m.,  and  had  to  make  onr  fire  principally  of 
cow-dung,  as  wood  is  very  scarce  on  this  prairie. 

We  gave  up  the  Judge's  horse  at  King's  llancho.  The  lawgiver 
now  rides  on  the  box  with  Mr.  Sargent. 

20^^,  ^pr?7  (Monday.) — T  slept  well  last  night  in  spite  of  the 
numerous  prairie-wolves  which  surrounded  us,  making  a  most  dis- 
mal noise. 

The  Jew  was  ill  again,  but  both  Mr  Sarjrent  and  the  Judge 
were  very  kind  to  him  ;  so  also  was  McCarthy,  who  declared  that 
a  person  incapable  of  protectitig  himself,  and  sickly,  such  as  this 
little  Jew,  is  alway  sure  of  kind  treatment  and  compassion,  even 
from  the  wildest  Texans. 

We  started  at  5  a.  m.,  and  had  to  get  through  some  dreadful 
mud — Mr.  Sargent  in  an  awful  bad  humor,  and  using  terrific  lan- 
guage. 

We  were  much  delayed  by  this  unfortunate  rain,  which  had  con- 
verted a  good  road  into  a  quagmire.  We  detected  a  rattlesnake 
crawling  along  this  morning,  but  there  are  not  nearly  so  many  of 
them  in  this  country  as  there  used  to  be. 

We  halted  at  9  a.  m  ,  and,  to  make  a  fire  for  cooking,  we  get  a 
rat-ranch  alight,  which  answered  very  well  ;  but  one  big  rat,  an- 
noyed by  our  proceedings,  emerged  hastily  from  his  den,  and  very 
nearly  jumped  into  the  frying-pan. 

Two  Texan  Rangers,  belonging  to  Taylor's  regiment,  rode  up 
tp  us  while  we  were  at  breakfast.  These  Rangers  all  wear  the 
most  enormous  spurs  I  ever  saw. 


25 

We  resumed  our  journey  at  12.30,  and  reached  a  creet*  called 
^*  Agua  Dulce"  at  2  p.  m.  M'Carthy  and  I  got  out  before  cross- 
ing, to  forage  at  some  huts  close  hy.  We  got  two  dozen  eggs  and 
some  lard ;  but  on  returning  to  the  road,  we  found  that  Mr.  Sargent 
had  pur^sued  his  usual  plan  of  leaving  us  in  the  lurch. 

I  lucidly  was  ahl^to  get  hold  of  a  Mexican  boy,  and  rode  across- 
the  creek  en  croupe,  M'Carthy  dismounted  a  negro,  and  so  got 
over. 

We  halted  at  5  p.  m. 

After  dark  M'Carthy  crossed  the  prairie  to  Yisitsome  friends  who 
were  encamped  half  a  nnle  distant.  He  lost  his  way  in  returning, 
and  wandered  about  for  several  hours.  The  Judge  with  great  pre- 
sence o!  mind,  kept  the  fire  up,  and  he  found  us  at  last. 

The  heat  from  nine  to  two  is  pretty  severe;  but  in  Texas  there 
is  generally  a  cool  sea-breeze,  which  makesit  bearable. 

2l5^  ^//W/ (Tuesday.) — We  started  at  5  a.m.,  and  reached  a 
hamlet  called  "  Casa  Blanca"  at  6.  We  procured  a  kid,  some  In- 
dian corn,  and  two  fowls  in  this  neighborhood. 

We  had  now  quitted  the  flat  country,  and  entered  an  undulat- 
ing or  "  rolling"  country,  full  of  live  oaks  of  very  respectable  size, 
and  we  had  also  got  out  of  the  mud. 

Mr.  Sargent  and  the  Judge  got  drunk  again  about  8  a.  m.  which, 
however,  had  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  speed.  We  descended 
the  hills  at  a  temfic  pace — or,  as  ^[r.  Sargent  expressed  it,  "  Go- 
ing like  h — lly  a  heating  tan  harkP 

We  "nooned  it."  at  a  stnall  creek ;  and  after  unhitching,  Mr. 
Sargent  and  the  Judge  had  a  row  with  one  another,  after  which 
Mr.  Sargent  killed  and  cooked  the  goat,  using  my  knife  for  these 
operations.  With  all  his  faults  he  certainly  is  a  capital  butcher^ 
cook,  and  mule  driver.  He  takes  great  care  of  his  animals,  and 
is  careful  to  inform  us  that  the  increased  pace  we  have  been  going 
at  is  not  attributable  to  gin. 

He  was  very  complimentary  to  me,  because  I  acted  as  assist- 
ant cook  and  butcher. 

Mr.  Ward's  party  passed  us  about  1  p.  m.  The  front  wrfeels  of 
his  buggy  having  now  smashed,  it  is  hitched  in  rear  of  one  of 
the  wagons. 

We  made  a  pretty  good  afternoon's  drive  through  a  wood  of  post- 
oaks,  where  we  saw  another  rattlesnake,  which  we  tried  to  shoot. 

We  halted  at  Spiing  Creek  at  6.30  p.  M.  ;  water  rather  brackish 
and  no  grass  for  the  mules. 

The  Judge  gave  us  some  of  his  experiences  as  a  fillibuster.    He 

*  All  streamB  or  rivers  are  called  creeks  and  proaouced  ''  criks." 


26 

declares  that  a  well-cooked  polecat  is  as  jrood  to  eat  as  a  pig,  and 
that  stewed  rattlesnake  is  not  so  bad  as  might  be  supposed.  The 
Texans  calls  the  Mexicans  "greasers,"  and  the  latter  retort  by 
the  name  "  gringo." 

We  are  now  livinjr  luxuriously  upon  eggs  and  goat's  flesh  ;  and 
I  think  we  have  made  about  thirty-two  iiiiies  to-day. 

22d  April  (Wednesday.) — We  got  under  weigh  at  5  a.  m.,  the 
mules  looking  rat  her  mean  for  want  of  grass. 

At  8  A.  M.  we  reached  the  Nueces  river,  the  banks  of  which  are 
very  steep,  and  are  bordered  with  a  beautiful  belt  of  live  oak  trees, 
covered  with  mustang  grapes. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  Nueces  is  "  Oakville,"  a  miserable  set- 
tlement, consisting  of  about  twenty  wooden  huts.  We  bought 
some  butter  there,  and  caught  up  Wards  wagons.  The  women 
at  Oakville  were  most  anxious  to  buy  snuff.  It  appears  that  the 
Texan  females  are  in  the  habit  of  dipping  snuff — which  n>ean«, 
putting  it  into  their  mouths  instead  of  their  noses.  They  rub  it 
against  their  teeth  wiih  a  blunted  stick. 

We  reached  grass  about  10  a.  m.,  and  "  nooned  it,"  the  weather 
being  very  trying — very  sultry,  without  sun  or  wind. 

We  hitched  in  at  1:15 — Ward's  wagons  in  our  front,  and  a 
Frenchman's  four-horse  team  in  our  rear.  At  4  p.  m.  we  reached 
the  "  Weedy,"  a  creek  which,  to  our  sorrow,  was  perfectly  dry. 
We  drove  on  till  7  p.  m.,  and  halted  at  some  good  grass.  There 
being  a  report  of  water  in  the  neighborhood,  Mr.  Sargent,  the 
Judge,  Ward,  and  the  Frenchman,  started  to  explore;  and  when, 
at  length,  they  did  discover  a  wretched  little  mud-hole,  it  .appears 
that  a  desperate  conflict  for  the  water  ensued,  for  the  Judge  re- 
turned to  us  a  mass  of  mud,  and  presenting  a  very  crestfallen  ap- 
pearance. Shortly  after,  Mr.  Sargent  appeared  in  such  a  bad  hu- 
mor, that  he  declined  to  cook,  to  eat,  to  drink  or  do  anything  but 
swear  vehemently. 

Deprived  by  this  'contretemps  of  our  goat's  flesh,  we  had  re- 
course to  an  old  ham  and  very  stale  bread. 

We  met  many  cotton  trains  and  gov.ernment  wagons  to-day,  and 
I  think  we  have  progressed  about  thirty-four  miles. 

23<Z  April  (Thursday.) — The  wily  Mr.  Sargent  drove  the  ani- 
mals down  to  the  mud-hole  in  the  middle  of  last  night,  and  so 
stole  a  march  upon  Ward. 

Our  goat's  flesh  having  spoiled,  had  to  be  thrown  away  this 
morning.  We  started  at  5:30  a.  m.,  and  reached  "  Rockey"  at 
7:30  ;  but  before  this  two  of  Ward's  horses  had  "  caved  in,''  which 
completely  restored  our  driver's  good  humor. 

Eocky  consists  of  two  huts  in  the  midst  of  a  stony  country; 


27 

and  about  a  mile  beyond  it  we  reached  a  pond,  watered  our  mules^ 
and  filled  our  barrels.  The  water  was  very  muddy  to  look  at,  but 
not  bad  to  drink. 

The  mules  were  lazy  to-day  ;  and  Mr.  Sargent  was  forced  to  fill 
his  bucket  with  stones,  and  pelt  the  leaders  occasionally. 

At  8  A.  M.  we  reached  an  open,  undulatinjr  prairie,  aVid  halted  ai 
10:30.     Mr.  Sargent  and  I   killed  and  cooked  the  two  chickens. 

He  has  done  me  the  honor  to  call  me  a  "right  good  companion 
for  the  road."  He  also  told  me  that  at  one  time  he  kept  an  hotel 
at  El  Paso — a  sort  of  half-way  house  on  the  overland  route  to  Cal- 
ifornia— and  was  rapidly  making  his  fortune  when  the  war  totally 
ruined  him.     This  accounts  for  his  animosity  to  "  Uncle  .Abe."* 

We  hitched  in  again  at  3  p.  m.,  and  after  pushing  through  some 
deepish  sand,  we  halted  for  the  night  only  twenty-four  miles  from 
San  Antonio.  No  corn  or  water,  but  plenty  of  grass;  our  food, 
also,  was  uqw  entirely  expended.  Mr.  Ward  struggled  up  at  8.15, 
making  a  desperate  effort  to  keep  up  with  us,  and  this  rivalry  be- 
tween Sargent  arid  him  was  of  great  service. 

This  was  our  last  night  of  camping^  out,  and  I  f(dt  almost  sorry 
for  it,  fori  have  enjoyed  the  journey  in  spite  of  the  hardships. 
The  country  through  which  I  have  passed  would  be  most  fertile 
and  productive,  (at  least  the  last  150  miles,)  were  it  not  for  the 
great  irregularity  of  the  seasons.  Sometimes  there  is  hardly  any 
rain  for  two  and  three  years  together. 

2ifh  April  (Friday.) — We  made  a  start  at  4:15  a.  m.,  and  with 
the  assistance  of  M'Oarthy,  we  managed  to  lose  our  way  ;  but  at 
6:15  a  loud  cheer  from  the  box,  of  "  Hoorraw  for  b — 11!  who's 
afraid  of  fire  ? "  proclaimed  that  Mr.  Sargent  had  come  in  sight 
of  Grey's  rancho. 

After  buying  some  eggs  and  Indian  corn  there,  we  crossed  the 
deep  bed  of  the  river  San  Antonio.  Its  banks  are  very  steep  and 
picturesque. 

We  halted  immediately  beyond,  to  allow  the  mules  to  feed  for 
an  hour.  A  woman  was  murdered  at  a  rancho  close  by  some  time 
ago,  and  five  bad  characters  were  put  to  death  at  San  Antonio  by 
the  vigilance  committee  on  suspicion. 

We  crossed  the  Salado  river  at  11,  and  nooned  it  in  its  neigh- 
borhood. 

Mr.  Sargent  and  the  Judge  finished  the  gin  ;  and  the  former, 
being  rather  drunk,  entertained  us  with  a  detailed  description  of 
his  treatment  of  a  refractory  negro  girl,  which,  by  his  own  ac- 

*  General  Longstreet  remembered  both  Sargent  and  the  Judge  perfectly, 
and  he  was  much  amused  by  my  experiences  with  these  worthies.  General 
Longstreet  had  been  quartered  on  the  Texan  frontiers  a  long  time  when  he 
was  in  the  old  army—August,  1S63.  , 


28 

count,  must  have  been  very  severe,  M'Carthy  was  much  dis- 
gusteil  at  the  story.* 

After  bathing  in  the  Salado,  Mr.  Sargent  being  deternnned  ta 
beat  Ward,  pushed  on  for  San  Antonio;  and  we  drew  up  before 
!Meiij:er's  hotel  at  3  p.  .m.,  our  mules  dead  beat — our  driver  having 
fulfilled  hisj^oinise  of  •' niaking  his  long-eared  horses  howl.'' 

Later  in  the  day  I  walked  through  the  streets  with  M'Carthy 
to  his  store,  which  is  a  very  large  building,  but  now  desolate, 
everything  having  been  suld  off.  He  was  of  course  greeted  by 
his  numerous  friends,  and  among  others  1  saw  a  negro  come  up  ta 
him,  shake  hands,  and  welcome  him  'back. 

J  was  introduced  to  Colonel  Duff's  brother,  who  is  also  a  very 
good  looUng  man;  but  he  has  not  thrown  off  his  British  naliou- 
ality  and  become  a  "citizen." 

The  distance  from  Brownsville  to  San  Antonio  is  330  miles,  and 
we  have  been  11  days  and  4  hours  en  route. 

25th  April  (Saturday.) — 6an  Antonio  is  prettily  situated  on  both 
banks  of  the  river  of  tlie  saute  name.  It  should  contain  about 
ten  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  the  largest  place  in  Texas  except 
Galveston. 

The  houses  are  well  built  of  stone,  and  they  are  generally  only 
one  or  two  stories  high.     All  have  verandas  in  front. 

Before  the  war  San  Antonio  was  very  prosperous,  and  rapidly 
increasing  in  size;  but  trade  is  now  almost  at  a  complete  stand- 
still. All  the  male  population  under  forty  are  in  the  military 
service,  and  many  necessary  articles  are  at  famine  prices.  Cof- 
fee costs  S7  a  pound. 

Menger's  hotel  is  a  large  aird  imposing  edifice,  but  its  proprie- 
tor, a  civil  German,  was  on  the  point  of  shutting  it  up  for  the 
present. 

During  the  morning  I  visited  Colonel  Bankhead,  a  tall  gentle- 
manlike Virginian,  who  was  comnuinding  officer  of  the  troops 
here,  lie  told  me  a  great  deal  about  the  Texan  history,  the  Jes- 
uit missions,  and  the  Louisiana  purchase,  &c. ;  and  he  alarmed 
me  by  doubling  whether  I  should  be  able  to  cross  the  Mississippi 
if  Banks  had  taken  Alexandria. 

I  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  Major  Minter,  flnother  Virgin- 
ian, who  told  me  lie  had  served  in  the  2d  cavalry  in  the  old  United 
Staters  army.  The  following  officers  in  the  Confederate  army  were 
in  the  saYne  regiment,  viz :  General  A.  S.  Johnston,  (killed  at  Shi- 

*  However  happy  and  well  ofi'  tLe  slaves  may  be  as  a  general  rule,  yet 
there  must  be  many  instances  (like  that  of  Mr.  Sargent;  of  ill-tre;itment  and 
cruelty.  Mr,  Sargant  is  a  Northernor  by  birth,  and  is  without  any  of  the 
kind  feeling  which  is  nearly  always  felt  by  Southerners  for  negroes. — July, 
1863. 


29 

loh,)  General  Lee,  General  Van  Dorn,  General  Hardee,  General 
Kirby  Smith,  and  General  Hood.* 

By  the  advice  of  M'Carthy,  I  sent  my  portmanteau  and  some 
of  my  heavy  things  to  be  sold  by  auction,  as  I  could  not  possibly 
carry  them  with  me. 

I  took  my  place  by  the  stage  for  Alleyton  (Houston) :  it  cost 
$40,;  in  old  times  it  was  $13. 

I  dined  with  M'Carthy  and  young  Duff  at  3  p.  m.  The  latter 
"wou'd  not  hear  of  my  paying  my  share  of  the  expenses  of  the 
journey  from  Brownsville.  Mrs.  M'Carthy  was  thrown  into  a  great 
state  of  agitatinu  and  delight  l)y  receiving  a  letter  from  her  mother, 
who  is  in  Yanlieedom.  Texas  is  so  cut  off  that  she  only  iiears 
once  in  many  njonths. 

Colonel  and  Mrs.  Bankhead  called  for  me  in  their  ambulance  at 
5  p.  M.,  and  they  drove  me  to  see  the  source  of  the  San  Antonio, 
which  is  the  most  beautiful  clear  spring  I  ever  saw.  We  also  saw 
the  extensive  foundations  for  a  tannery  now  being  built  by  the 
Confederate  government.' 

The  country  is  very  pretty,  and  is  irrigated  in  an  ingenious  man- 
ner by  ditches  cut  from  the  river  in  ail  directions.  It  is  thus  in  a 
great  degree  rendered  independent  of  rain. 

At  San  Antonio  spring  we  were  entertained  by  a  Major  Young, 
a  queer  little  naval  officer — why  a  Major  1  couldn't  discover. 

Mrs.  Bankhead  is  a  vio'ent  Southerner.  She  was  twice  ordered 
out  of  Memphis  by  the  Federals  on  account  of  her  husband's  prin- 
ciples; but  she  says  she  was  treated  with  courtesy  and  kindness 
by  the  Federal  General  Sherman,  who  carried  out  the  orders  of 
his  government  with  regret. 

None  of  the  Southern  people  with  whom  I  have  spoken  enter- 
tain any  hopes  of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war.  They  say  it 
must  last  all  Lincoln's  presidency,  and  perhaps  a  good  deal  longer. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  San  Antonio,  one-third  of  the  poptila- 
tion  is  German,  and  many  of  them  were  at  first  by  no  means  loyal 
to  the  Confederate  cause.  They  objected  much  to  the  conscrip- 
tion, and  some  even  resisted  by  force  of  arms  ;  but  these  were  soon 
settled  by  Duffs  regiment,  and  it  is  said  they  are  now  reconciled 
to  the  new  regime. 

My  portmanteau,  with  what  was  in  it — for  T  gave  away  part  of 
my  things — sold  for  S323.  Its  value  in  England  couldn't  have 
been  more  than  £S  or  £9.  The  portmanteau  itself,  which  was  an 
old  one,  fetched  $51  ;  a  very  old  pair  of  bu:cher  boots,  $o2  ;  five 
shirts,  $42  ;  an  old  overcoat,  $25. 

26th  Ajjril  (Sunday.) — At  11.30  a.  m.,  M'Carthy  drove  me  in 

*  Also  the  Federal  Generals  Thomas  and  Stonemau. 


30 

his  bugery  to  see  the  San  Peilro  spring,  which  is  inferior  in  beanty 
to  the  San  Antonio  spring.  A  troop  of  Texan  cavalry  was  bivou- 
acked there. 

We  afterwards  drove  to  the  '' 7nfssions'*  of  San  Jose  and  San 
Juan,  six  and  nine  niiU^s  from  the  town.  These  were  fortified  con- 
vents for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  and  were  l)iiilt  by  the 
Jesuits  about  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  ago.  They  are  now 
ruins,  and  the  arcliitecrure  is  of  the  heavy  Castilian  style,  elabo- 
rately ornamented.  These  nii><si(>ns;  are  very  interesting,  and 
there  are  two  more  of  them,  which  I  did  not  see. 

In  the  afternoon  I  saw  many  negroes  and  negresses  parading' 
about  in  their  Sunday  clothes — silks  and  crinolines — much  smarter 
than  their  mistresses. 

At  5  p.  M.  I  dined  with  Colonel  Bankhead,  who  gave  an  enter- 
tainment, which  in  these  hard  times  must  have  cost  a  mint  of 
money.  About  fourteen  of  the  principal  officers  were  invited  ; 
one  of  them  was  Captain  Mason,  (cousin  to  the  London  commis- 
sioner.) who  had  served  under  Stonewall  Jackson  iu  Virginia. 
He  said  that  officer  was  by  no  means  popular  at  first.  I  spent  a 
very  agreeable  evening,  and  heard  many  anecdotes  of  the  war. 
Onejof  the  officers  sang  the  abolition  song,  "John  Brown,"  to- 
gether with  its  parody,  "I'm  bound  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  army  of 
the  South,"  a  Confederate  marching  song,  and  another  parody, 
which  is  a  Yankee  marching  song,  "We'll  hang  Jeff.  Davis  on  a 
sour-apple  tree." 

Whenever  I  have  dined  with  Confederate  officers,  they  have 
nearly  always  proposed  the  Queen's  health,  and  never  failed  to 
pass  the  highest  eulogiums  upon  her  majesty. 

9Sith  April  (Monday.) — Colonel  Bankhead  has  given  me  letters 
of  iiitrodiution  to  General  Bragg,  to  General  Leonidas  Polk  and 
several  others. 

At  2  P.  M.  I  called  on  Mrs.  Bankhead  to  say  good  by.  She  told 
me  that  her  husbund  had  two  brothers  in  the  Northern  service — 
one  in  the  army  and  the  other  in  the  navy.  The  two  army  broth- 
ers were  both  in  the  battles  of  Shiloh  and  Perryville,  on  opposite 
sides.  The  naval  Bankhead  commanded  the  Monitor  when  she 
sank. 

introduced  me  to  a  German  militia  general  in  a  beer-house 

this  afternoon.  These  two  had  a  slight  dispute,  as  the  latter 
spoke  strongly  in  disapproval  of  ''secret  or  night  lynching.'' 

The  recent  escapade  of  Captain  Penaloso  seems  to  have  been 
much  condemned  in  San  Antonio.  This  individual  (formerly  a 
butcher)  hanged  one  of  his  soldiers  a  short  time  ago,  on  his  own. 
responsibility,  for  desertion  and  stealing  a  musket.  This  event 
came  off  at  12  o'clock  noon,  in  the  principal  plaza  of  the  city. 


31 

The  tree  has  been  cut  down,  to  show  the  feelings  of  the  citizens. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  enforcement  of  the  conscription 
has,  as  a  general  rule,  been  extremely  easy  throughout  the  Con- 
federacy, (except  among  the  Germans  ;)  but  I  hear  of  many  per- 
sons evading  it,  by  getting  into  some  sort  of  goverment  employ- 
pient — such  as  contractors,  agents  or  teamsters  to  the  Rio  Grande. 
To  my  extreme  regret,  1  took  leave  of  my  friend  M'Carthy  this 
evening,  whose  hospitality  and  kindness  I  shall  never  forget. 

I  left.  San  Antonio  by  stage  for  Alleyton  at  9  p.  m.  The  stage 
was  an  old  coach,  into  the  interior  of  which  nine  persons  were 
crammed  on  three  transverse  seats,  besides  many  others  on  the 
roof.  I  was  placed  on  the  centre  seat,  which  was  extremely  nar- 
row, and  I  had  nothing  but  a  strap  to  support  my  back.  An  enor- 
mously fat  German  was  my  vis-a-vis,  and  a  long-legged  Confeder- 
ate oflficerwas  in  my  rear.  Our  first  team  consisted  of  four  mules; 
we  afterwards  got  horses. 

My  fellow-travelers  were  all  either  military  men,  or  connected 
with  the  government. 

Only  Jive  out  of  nine  chewed  tobacco  during  the  night ;  but  they 
aimed  at  the  windows  with  great  accuracy,  and  didn't  splash  me. 
The  amount  of  sleep  I  got,  however,  was  naturally  very  trifling. 

28//j  Ajwil  (Tuesday.)— We  crossed  the  river  Guadalupe  at  5 
A.  M.,  and  got  a  change  of  horses. 

We  got  a  very  fair  breakfast  at  Seguin,  at  7  a.  m.,  which  was 
beginning  to  be  a  well-to-do  little  place  when  the  war  dried  it  up. 
It  commenced  to  rain  at  Seguin,  which  made  the  road  very  wouUy, 
and  annoyed  the  outsiders  a  good  deal. 

The  conversation  turned  a  good  deal  upon  military  subjects,  and 
all  agreed  that  the  system  of  election  of  officers  had  proved  to  be 
a  great  mistake.  According  to  their  own  accounts,  discipline  must 
have  been  extremely  lax  at  first.,  hut  was  now  improving.  They 
were  most  anxious  to  hear  what,  was  thought  of  their  cause  in 
Europe;  and  none  of  them  seemed  aware  of  the  great  sympathy 
which,  their  gallantry  and  determination  had  gained  for  ihem  in 
England  in  si)ite  of  slavery.  We  dined  at  a  little  wooden  hamlet 
called  Belmont,  and  changed  horses  again  there. 

The  country  through  which  we  had  been  traveling  was  a  good 
deal  cultivated,  and  there  were  numerous  farms.  I  saw  cotton 
fields  for  the  first  time. 

We  amused  ourselves  by  taking  shots  with  our  revolvers  at  the 
enormous  jack  rabbits  which  came  to  stare  at  the  coach. 

In  the  afternoon  tobacco  chewing  became  universal,  and  the 
spitting  was  some  times  a  little  wild. 

It  was  the  custom  for  the  outsiders  to  sit  round  th^  top  of  the 


32 

carriapp,  with  their  legs  danfrling  over,  (like  mutes  on  a  hearse 
returninjr  from  a  funeral.)  'J'his  practice  rendered  it  dangerous  to 
put  one's  head  out  of  tlie  window,  for  fear  of  a  haclv  l^ick  from  the 
heels,  or  of  a  shower  of  tol^acco  juice  from  the  months  of  the 
Southern  ciiivalry  on  the  roof.  ]n  spite  of  their  peculiar  habits 
of  hanging,  shooting.  &c.,  which  seemed  to  be  natural  to  people 
living  in  a  wild  and  ihinly  populated  cotinrry.  there  was  much  to 
like  in  my  fellow  travelers.  They  all  had  d  i^ort  of  hon//om7nie 
honesty  and  straighi forwardness,  a  natural  courtesy  and  extreme 
good  nature,  which  was  veiy  agreeable.  Although  they  were  all 
very  anxious  to  talk  to  a  European — who,  in  these  blockade  times, 
\»  a  rara  aris — yet  their  inquisitiveness  was  never  oflfeusive  or 
disagreeable. 

Any  doubts  as  to  my  personal  safety,  which  may  have  been 
roused  by  my  early  insight  inio  lynch  law,  were  soon  completely 
set  at  rest ;  for  I  sdon  perceived  that  if  any  one  were  to  annoy  me 
tlie  remainder  would  stand  by  me  as  a  point  of  honor. 

We  supped  at  a  little  town  called  Gonzales  at  6.a0. 

We  left  it  at  8  p.  m.  in  another  coach  with  six  horses — big, 
strong  animals. 

The  roads  being  all  natural  ones,  were  much  injured  by  the 
rains. 

We  were  all  rather  disgusted  by  the  bad  news  we  heard  at  Gon- 
zales of  the  continued  advance  of  Banks,  and  of  the  probable  fall 
of  Alexandria. 

The  squeezing  was  really  quite  awful,  but  I  did  not  suffer  so 
much  as  the  fat  or  long-legged  ones.  They  all  bore  their  trials  in 
the  most  jovial,  good-humored  manner. 

!My  fat  vis-a-vis  (in  despair)  changed  places  with  me,  my  twQ 
bench-fellows  being  rather  thinner  than  his,  and  1  benefited  much 
by  the  change  into  a  back  seat. 

,  29lh  April,  Wednesday. — Exhausted  as  I  was,  I  managed  to 
sleep  wonderfidly  well  last  night.  We  bivakfasted  at  a  place 
called  Hallettsville  at  7  a.  m.,  and  changed  carriages  again. 

Here  we  took  in  fcjur  more  confederate  soldiers  as  outsiders,  and 
we  were  now  eighteen  in  all.  ISo  where  but  in  this  country  would 
such  a  tiling  be  permitted. 

Owing  to  the  great  top-weight,  the  coach  swayed  about  like  a 
ship  in  a  heavy  sea,  and  the  escapes  of  a  capsize  were  aluiost 
miraculous.  It  is  said  that  at  the  end  of  a  Texan  journey  the 
question  asked  is  not,  "Have  you  been  upset?"  but,  "How 
many  times  have  you  been  upset  i  " 

The  value  of  the  negroes  working  in  the  fields  was  constantly- 
appraised  by  my  fellow-travelers  ;  and  it  appeared  that,  in  Texas, 


33 

an  able-bodied  male  fetched  $2500,  whilst  a  well-skilled  semstress 
was  worth  $3500. 

Two  of  my  companions  served  through  the  late  severe  campaign 
in  New  Mexico,  but  they  considered  forty-eight  hours  in  a  closely 
packed  srage  a  greater  hardship  than  any  of  their  military  experi- 
ences. ^ 

We  passed  many  cotton  fields  and  beautiful  Indian  corn,  but 
much  of  the  latter  had  been  damaged  by  the  hail. 

I  was  told  that  one-third  of  the  land  formerly  devoted  to  cotton 
is  still  sown  with  that  article,  the  remainder  being  corn,  &c.* 

We  also  passed  through  some  very  pretty  country,  full  of  fine 
post  oak  and  cotton  trees,  and  we  met  many  Mexican  cotton  teams 
— some  of  the  wagons  with  fourteen  oxen  o"r  twelve  mules,  which 
were  being  cruelly  ill-treated  by  their  drivers. 

We  crossed  several  rivers  with  steep  and  difficult  banks,  and 
dined  at  a  farm  house  at  2.30  p.  m. 

I  have  a'ready  discovered  that,  directly  the  bell  rings,  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  rush  at  one's  food  and  bok  it  as  quickly  as  possible, 
without  any  ceremony  or  delay,  otherwise  it  all  disappears,  so  rapa- 
cious a»id  so  voracious  rre  the  natives  at  their  meals  whilst  travel- 
injr.  Dinner,  on  such  occasions,  in  no  case  lasts'  more  than  seven 
minutes. 

We  reached  Columbus  at  6  p.  m.,  and  got  rid  of  half  our  pas- 
sengers there.  These  Texan  towns  generally  consist  of  one  large 
plaza,  \Cith  a  well  built  courthouse  on  one  side  and  an  hotel  oppo- 
site, the  other  two  sides  being  filled  up  with  wooden  stores.  AH 
their  budding  prosperity  has  been  com;)letely  checked  by  the  war; 
but  every  one  anticipates  a  great  immigration  into  Texas  after  the 
peace. 

We  crossed  the  Colorado  river,  and  reached  AUeyton,  our  des- 
tination, at  7  p.  n. 

This  little  wooden  village  has  sprung  into  existence  during  the 
last  three  years,  owing  to  its  being  the  present  terminus  to  the 
railroad.  It  was  cranimed  full  of  travelers  and  cotton  speculators; 
but,  as  an  especial  favor,  the  fat  German  and  I  were  given  a  bed 
between  us.  I  threw  myself  on  the  bed  with  my  clothes  on  fbien 
entenduj  and  was  fast  asleep  in  five  minutes.  In  the  same  room 
there  were  three  other  beds,  each  with  two  occupants. 

The  distance  from  San  Antonio  to  AUeyton  is  140  miles — time, 
forty-six  hours. 

30i7i  April  (Thursday.) — I  have  to-day  acquired  my  first  expe- 
rience of  Texan  railroads. 

In  this  country,  where  every  white  man  is  as  good  as  another, 

*  It  is  only  in  Texas  that  so  much  cotton  is  itiU  grown. 

3 


34 

by  'theory,  and  every  \rhite  female  is  by  courte.«y  a  lady,  there  is 
only  one  class.  The  train  from  Alley f on  consistc^d  of  two  long 
cars,  each  holding  about  tifiy  persons.  Their  interior  is  like  the 
aisle  of  a  church,  twelve  seats  on  either  side,  each  for  two  persons. 
The  seats  are  comforlably  stuffed,  and  seemed  luxurious  after  the 
stage. 

Before  starting,  the  engine  gives  two  preliminary  snorts,  which* 
with  a  yell  from  the  official  of  "all  nhoard,"  warn  (he  passengers 
to  hold  on  ;  for  they  are  closely  followed  by  a  tremendous  jerk, 
which  sets  the  cars  in  motion. 

Every  passenger  is  allowed  to  use  his  own  discretion  about  break- 
ing his  arm,  neck  or  leg,  without  interference  by  the  railway  offi- 
cials. 

People  are  continually  jumping  on  and  off  whilst  the  train  is  in 
motion,  and  larking  from  one  car  to  the  other.  There  is  no  sort  of 
fence  or  other  obstacle  to  prevent  "humans"  or  cattle  from  getting 
on  the  line. 

"VVe  left  Alleyton  at  8  a.  m.,  and  got  a  miserable  meal  at  Rich- 
mond at  12.30.  At  this  little  town  I  was  introduced  to  a  seedy- 
looking  man,  in  rusty  black  clothes  and  a  broken-down  "stove- 
pipe" hat.  This  was  Judge  Stockdale,  who  will  probai)ly  be  the 
next  Governor  of  Texas.  He  is  an  agreeable  man,  and  his  con- 
versation is  far  superior  to  his  clothing.  The  rival  candidate  is 
General  Chambers,  I  think,  who  has  become  very  popular  by  the 
following  sentence  in  his  manifesto  :  "  I  am  of  opinion  that  mar- 
ried soldiers  should  be  given  the  opportunity  of  embracing  their 
families  at  least  once  a  year,  their  places  in  the  ranks  being  taken 
by  unmarried  men.  The  population  must  not  be  alh)wed  to  suffer." 
'Richmond  is  on  the  B'-azos  river,  which  is  crossed  in  a  peculiar 
manner.  A  steep  inclined  plane  leads  to  a  low,  rickety,  trestle 
bridge,  and  a  similar  inclined  plane  is  cut  in  the  opposite  bank. 
The  engine  cracks  on  all  steam,  and  gets  sufficient  impetus  in 
going  down  the  first  incline  to  shoot  across  the  bridge  and  up  the 
second  incline.  But  even  in  Texas  this  method  of  crossing  a  river 
is  considered  rather  unsafe. 

After  crossing  the  river  in  this  manner,  the  rail  traverses  some 
very  fertile  land,  part  of  which  forms  the  estate  of  the  late  Colonel 
Terry.  There  are  more  than  two  hundred  negroes  on  jhe  planta- 
tion. Some  of  the  fields  were  planted  with  cotton  and  Indian 
corn  mixed,  three  rows  of  the  former  l)etween  two  of  the  latter.  I 
saw  also  fields  of  cotton  and  sugar  mixed. 

"We  changed  carriages  at  Harrisburg,  and  I  completed  my  jour- 
ney to  Houston  on  a  cotton  truck. 

The  country  near  Houston  is  very  pretty,  and  is  studied  "with 
white  wooden  villas,  which  ai-e  raised  off  the  ground  on  blocks  like 


35 

haystacks.  I  reached  Houston  at  4.30  p.  m.,  and  drove  to  the 
[Fannin  House  hotel. 

Houston  is  a  much  better  place  than  I  expected.  The  main 
street  can  boasit  of  many  well  built  brick  and  iron  houses.  It  was 
very  full,  as  it  now  contained  all  the  refugees  from  the  deserted 
town  of  Galveston. 

After  an  extremely  mild  supper,  I  was  introduced  to  Lieutenant 
Lee,  a  wounded  hero,  who  lost  his  le^  at  Shiloah  ;  also  to  Colonel 
Pyron,  a  distinguished  officer,  who  commands  the  regiment  named 
after  him. 

The  fat  German,  Mr.  Lee  and  myself  went  to  the  theatre  after- 
wards. 

As  a  great  favnr,  my  British  prejuflices  were  respected,  and  I 
was  allowed  a  bed  to  myself;  but  the  four  other  beds  in  the  mom 
had  two  occupants  each.  A  captain,  whose  acquaintance  I  had 
made  in  the  cars,  slept  in  the  next  bed  to  me.  Directly  after  we 
had  got  into  bed  a  negro  came  in,  who,  squatting  down  between 
our  beds,  began  to  clean  our  boots.  The  Southerner  pointed  at 
the  slave,  and  thus  held  forth  •  "  Well,  Kernel,  I  reckon  you've  got 
servants  in  your  country,  but  not  of  that  color.  Now,  sir,  this  is 
a  real  genuene  African.  He's  as  happy  as  the  day's  long  ;  and  if 
be  was  on  a  sugar  plantation  he'd  be  dancing  half  the  night ;  but 
if  you  was  to  collect  a  thousand  of  them  together,  and  fire  one 
bomb  in  amongst  them,  they'd  all  run  like  hell."  The  negro 
grinned,  and  seemed  quite  flattered. 

1.9^  May,  Friflay. — T  called  on  General  Scurry,  and  found  him 
suffering  from  severe  ophthalmia.  When  I  presented  General  Ma- 
gruder's  letter,  he  inssisted  that  I  should  come  and  live  with  him 
so  long  as  I  remained  here.  He  also  telegraphed  to  Galveston  for 
a  steamer  to  take  me  there  and  back. 

We  dined  at  4  p.  m.  :  the  party  consisted  of  Colonel  and  Judge 
Terrill,  a  clever  and  agreeable  man.  Colonel  Pyron,  Captain 
Wharton,  quartermaster  general,  Major  Watkins,  a  handsome  fel- 
low, and  hero  of  the  Sabine  Pass  affair,  and  Colonel  Cook,  com- 
manding the  artillery  at  Galveston,  late  of  the  United  States 
navy,  who  enjoys  the  reputation  of  being  a  zealous  Methodist 
preacher  and  a  daring  oflic^er.  The  latter  told  me  he  could  hardly 
understand  how  I  could  be  an  Englishman,  as  I  pronounced  my 
h's  all  right.  General  Scurry  himself  is  very  amusing,  and  is  an 
admirable  mimio.  His  numerous  anecdotes  of  the  war  were  very 
interesting.  In  peace  times  he  is  a  lawyer.  He  was  a  volunteer 
Major  in  the  l^rexican  war,  and  distinguished  himself  very  much  in 
the  late  compaigns  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  at  the  recap- 
ture of  Galveston. 

After  dinner,  the  Queen's  health  was  proposed  j  and  the  party 


36 

expressed  the  greatest  admiration  for  Her  Majesty,  and  respect. for 
the  British  constitution.  They  all  said  that  uiiivtrsal  suffrage  did 
not  produce  such  deplorable  results  in  the  South  as  in  the  North  ; 
because  the  population  in'the  South  is  so  very  scattered,  and  the 
whites  being  the  superior  race,  they  form  a  sort  of  arij^tocracy. 

They  all  wanted  me  to  put  off  going  to  Galveston  till  IMonday, 
in  order  that,  some  ladies  might  go  ;  hut  I  was  inexorable,  as  it 
Diust  now  be  my  object  to  cross  the  Mississippi  without  delay. 
All  these  officers  despised  sabres,  and  considered  double-barrelled 
shot  guns  and  revolvers  the  best  arms  for  cavalry. 

2d  May,  Saturday. — As  the  steamer  bad  not  arrived  in  the 
morning,  1  left  by  railroad  for  Galveston.  General  Scurry  in- 
sisted upon  sending  his  servant  to  wait  upon  me,  in  order  that  I 
might  become  acquainted  wiih  "an  aristocratic  negro."  John  was 
a  very  smart  fellow,  and  at  first  sight  nearly  as  white  as  myself 

In  the  cars  I  was  introduced  to  General  Samuel  Houston,  the 
founder  of  Texan  Independence.  He  told  me  he  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia seventy  years  ago,  that  he  was  United  Slates  Senator  at 
thirty,  and  Governor  of  Tennessee  at  thirty-six.  He  emigrated 
into  Texas  in  1832  ;  headed  the  revolt  of  Texas,  and  defeate.i  the 
Mexicans  at  San  Jacinto  in  ]&36.  He  then  became  Tresident  of 
the  Republic  of  Texas,  which  he  annexed  to  the  United  States  in 
1845.  As  Governor  of  tlie  State  in  18G0,  he  had  opposed  the 
secession  movement,  and  was  dcj'osed.  Tiiough  evidently  a  re- 
markable and  clever  man,  he  is  extremely  egotistical  and  vain,  and 
much  disappointed  at  having  to  suhside  from  his  former  grandeur. 
The  town  of  Houston  is  named  after  him.  In  appearance  he  is  a 
tall,  handsome  old  man,  nmch  given  to  chewing  tobacco,  ^and 
blowing  his  nose  with  his  fingers.* 

I  was  also  introduced  to  another  "  character,"  Capt.  Chul)b,  who 
told  me  he  was  a  Yankee  by  birlb,  and  served  rs  coxswain  to  the 
United  States  ship  Java  in  1827.  He  was  afrerwards  imprisoned 
at  Boston  on  suspicion  of  being  engaged  in  the  slave  trade ;  but  he 
escaped.  At  the  beginning  of  this  war  he  was  captured  by  the 
Yankees,  when  he  was  in  command  of  the  Confederate  Stales 
steamer  Royal  Y^acht,  and  taken  to  New  Y^ork  in  chains,  where  he 
was  condenmed  to  be  hung  as  a  pirate;  but  he  was  eventually  ex- 
changed. I  was  afterwards  told  that  the  slave-trading  escapade 
of  which  he  was  accused  consisted  in  his  having  hired  a  colored 
crew  at  Boston,  and  then  coolly  selling  them  at  Galveston. 

At  1  p.  M..  we  arrived  at  Virginia  Point,  a  ictc-de-pont  at  the 
extremity  of  the  mainland.  Here  Bate's  battalion  was  encamped 
— called  also  the  "  swamp  angels,"  on  account  of  the  marshy  na- 
ture of  their  quarters,  and  of  their  predatory  and  irregular  habits. 

*  H«  is  reportiid  to  have  died  iu  jLugust,  1863. 


37 

The  railroad  then  traverses  a  shallow  lagoon  (called  Galves- 
ton Bay)  on  a  trestle-bridge  two  miles  long ;  this  leads  to  another 
tete-de-pont  on  Galveston  island,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  city  is 
reached. 

In  the  train  I  had  received  the  following  message  by  telegraph 
from  Colonel  Debray,  who  commands  at  Galveston  :  "Will  Col. 
Fremande  sleep  to-niirht  at  the  house  of  a  blockaded  rebel!"  I 
answered:  "Delighted;"  and  was;  received  at  the  terminus  by 
Capt.  Foster  of  the  Staff,  who  conducted  me  in  an  ambulance  to 
headquarters,  which  were  at  the  house  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
bishop.  I  was  received  there  by  Colonel  Debray  and  two  very 
gentlemanlike  French  priests. 

We  sat  down  to  dinner  at  2  p.  m.,  but  were  soon  interrupted  by 
an  indignant  drayman,  who  came  to  complain  of  a  military  out- 
rage. It  appeared  that  immediately  after  I  had  left  the  cars,  a 
semi-drunken  Texan  of  Pyron's  regiment  had  desired  this  dray- 
man to  stop,  and  upon  the  latter  declining  to  do  so,  the  Texan 
fired  five  shots  at  him  from  his  "six-shooter,"  and  the  last  shot 
killed  the  drayman's  horse.  Captain  Foster  (who  is  a  Louisianian, 
and  very  sarcastic  about  Texas)  said  that  the  regiment  would  pro- 
bably hang  the  soldier  for  being  such  a  disgraceful  bad  shot. 

After  dinner  Colonel  Debray  took  me  into  the  observatory 
which  commands  a  good  view  of  the  city,  bay,  and  gulf. 

Galveston  is  situated  near  the  eastern  end  of  an  island  thirty 
miles  long  by  three  and  a  half  wide.  Its  houses  are  w.dl  built; 
its  streets  are  long,  straight,  and  shaded  with  trees;  but  the  city 
was  now  desolate,  blockaded,  and  under  military  law.  Most  of  the 
houses  are  empty,  and  bore  many  marks  of  the  ill-directed  fire  of 
the  Federal  ships  during  the  night  of  the  1st  of  January  last. 

The  whole  of  Galveston  Bay  is  very  shallow,  except  a  narrow 
channel  of  about  one  hundred  yards  immediately  in  front  of  the 
now  deserted  wharves.  The  entrance  to  this  channel  is  at  the 
northeastern  extremity  of  the  island,  and  is  defended  by  the  new 
works  which  are  now  in  progress  there.  It  is  also  blocked  up 
with  piles,  torpedoes,  and  other  obstacles. 

The  blockaders  were  plainly  visible  about  four  miles  from  land; 
they  consisted  of  three  gunboats  and  an  ugly  paddle  steamer,  also 
two  supply  vesels. 

The  wreck  of  the  Confederate  cotton-steamer  Neptune  (destroy- 
ed in  her  attack  on  the  Harriet  Lane,)  was  close  off  one  of  the 
wharves.  That  of  the  West  field  (blown  up  by  the  Yankee  Com- 
modore,) was  off  Pelican  Island. 

In  the  night  of  the  1st  January,  General  Magrnder  suddenly  en- 
tered Galveston  placed  his  field  pieces  along  the  line  of  wharves, 
and    unexpectedly  opened  fire  in  the    dark  upon   the  Yankee 


38. 

war  vessels  at  a  rarge  of  about  one  hundred  yards  ;  but  so  heavy, 
(though  badly  direcicd)  was  Ibe  reply  frduilhe  ships,  ihatlhe  field 
pieceshad  1o  be  wiilidrawn.  The  attack  by  Colonel  C<iok  upon  a 
ilassachusettsrejjinienl  fortified  at  the  end  of  a  wharf,  also  failed, 
and  the  Confederates  thought  themselves  "badly  whipped."  But 
after  daylight  theferturafesurrender  of  iheHarriet  Lane  to  the  cot- 
ton-boat Bayou  City,  and  the  extraordir:ary  conduct  of  Commodore 
Kenshaw,  converted  a  Confederate  disaster  into  the  recapture  of 
Galveston.  General  Magruder  certainly  deserves  immense  credit 
for  his  bi.ldness  in  attacking  a  heavily  armed  naval  squadron  with 
a  few  field  pieces  and  two  river  steaiuers  protected  with  Cotton 
bales  and  manned  with  Texan  cavalry  soldiers. 

I  rode  with  Colonel  Debray  to  examine  Forts  Scurry,  Magru- 
der,  Bankhead,  and  Point.  These  works  have  been  ingeniously 
designed  by  Colonel  Suldkowski.  (formerly  in  the  Austrian  army.) 
and  they  were  being  very  well  constructed  by  one  hundred  and 
fifty  whites  and  six  hundred  blacks  und^r  that  oflficer's  superin- 
tendence, the  blacks  being  lent  by  the  neighboring  plauters. 

Although  the  blockaders  can  easily  approach  to  within  three 
miles  of  the  works,  and  although  one  shell  will  always  "  stam- 
pede" the  negroes,  yet  they  have  not  thrown  any  fur  a  long 
time.*  , 

Colonel  Debray  is  a  broad-shouldered  Frenchman,  and  is  a  very 
good  fellow.  He  told  me  that  he  emigrated  to  America  in  184S  :  he 
raised  a  company  in  1861,  in  which  he  was  only  apiivate  ;  he  was 
next  appointed  aid-de-camp  to  the  Governor  of  'IVxas,  with  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general  ;  he  then  descended  to  a  major  of  infan- 
try, afterwards  rose  to  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  cavalry,  and  is  now 
colonel. 

Captain  Foster  is  properly  on  Magruder's  Staff,  and  is  very  good 
company.  His  property  at  New  Orleans  had  b.en  destroyed  by 
the  Tankees. 

In  the  evening  ^e  went  to  a  dance  given  by  Colonel  Manly 
which  was  great  fun.  I  danced  an  American  cotillon  with  Mrs., 
Manly  ;  it  was  a  very  violent  exercise,  and  not  the  least  like  any 
tiling  I  had  seen  before.  A  gentleman  stands  by  shouting  out 
the  different  figures  to  be  performed,  and  every  one  obeys  his 
orders  with  much  gravity  and  energy.  Colonel  Manly  is  a  very 
gentlemanlike  Carolinian  ;  the  ladies  were  pretty,  and  considering 

the  blockade,  they  were  very  well  dressed.     Six  deserters  from 

. ^_ _____    . _ 

*  Such  a  stampede  did  occur  when  the  blockaders  threw  two  or  three  phells* 
All  the  iie^rocB  rati,  showing  every  sign  of  great  dismay,  and  two  of  them,  in 
their  terror,  ran  into  the  sea,  and  were  unfortunately  drowned.  It  is  now, 
however,  too  late  for  the  ships  to  try  this  experiment,  as  some  heavy  guns 
are  in  position.  A  descriptiou  of  the  diti'ereat  works  of  course  is  omitted 
bere. 


39 

Banks'  army  arrived  here  to-day.  Banks  seems  to  be  advancing 
steadily,  and  overcoming  the  opposition  offered  by  the  handful  of 
Confederates  in  the  Teche  country. 

Banks  himself  is  much  despised  as  a  soldier,  and  is  always  call- 
ed by  the  Confederates  Mr.  Commissary  Banks,  on  account  of  the 
efficient  manner  in  which  he  performed  the  duties  of  that  office  for 
**  Stonewall"  Jackson  in  Virginia.  The  officer  who  is  supposed 
really  to  command  the  advancing  Federals,  is  Weitzel ;  and  he  is 
acknowled^'ed  by  all  here  to  be  an  able  man,  a  good  soldier,  and 
well  acquainted  with  the  country  in  which  he  is  manoeuvring. 

^d  May  (Sunday.^ — I  paid  a  long  visit  this  morning  to  Mr. 
Lynn  the  British  Consul,  who  toid  !ne  that  he  had  great  difficulty 
in  communicating  with  the  outer  world,  and  had  seen  no  British 
man-of-war  since  the  Immortaliie. 

At  1.30  I  saw  Pyron's  regiment  embark  for  Niblitt's  Bluff  to 
meet  Banks.  This  corps  is  now  dismounted  cavalry,  and  the  pro- 
cession was  a  droll  one.  First  came  eight  or  ten  instruments  bray- 
ing discordantly,  then  an  enormous  Confederate  flag,  followed  by 
about  four  hundred  men  moving  by  fours — dressed  in  every  variety 
of  costume,  and  armed  with  every  variety  of  weapon  ;  about  sixty 
had  Enfield  rifles ;  the  remainder  carried  shot-guns  (fowling-pie- 
ces,) carbines,  or  long  rifles  of  a  peculiar  and  antiquated  manu- 
facture. None  had  swords  or  bayonets — all  had  six-shooters  and 
bowie-knives.  The  men  were  a  fine,  determined  looking  lot ;  and 
I  saw  among  them  a  short  stout  boy  of  fourteen,  who  had  served 
through  the  Arizona  campaign.  I  saw  many  of  the  soldiers  take 
off  their  bats  to  the  French  priests,  who  seemed  much  respected  la 
Galveston.  This  regiment  is  considered  down  here  to  be  a  very 
good  one,  and  its  colonel  is  spoken  as  one  of  the  bravest  officers  in 
the  army.  The  regiment  was  to  harrangued  by  Old  Houston  before 
it  embarked.* 

In  getting  into  the  cars  to  return  to  Houston,  I  was  nearly 
forced  to  step  over  the  dead  body  of  the  horse  shot  by  the  soldier 
yesterday,  and  which  the  authoritiies  had  not  thought  necessary  to 
remove. 

I  got  back  to  General  Scurry's  house  at  Houston  at  4.30  p.  m. 
The  general  took  me  out  for  a  drive  in  his  ambulance,  and  I  saw 
innumerable  negroes  and  negresses  parading  about  the  streets 
in  the  most  outrageously  grand  costumes — silks,  satins,  crin- 
olines, hats  with  feathers,  lace  mantles,  &c.,  fprming  an  absurd 
contrast  to  the  simple  dresses  of  their  mistresses.  Many  were 
driving  about  in  their  master's  carriages,  or  riding  on  iiorses  which 

*At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  it  was  found  very  difficult  to  raise  infantry  in 
Texas,  as  no  Texan  walks  a  yard  if  he  can  help  it.  Many  mounted  regi- 
ments were  therefore  organized,  aud  afterwards  dismouiited. 


40 

are  often  lent  to  them  on  Sunday  afternoons;  all  seemed  intense- 
ly happy  and  satisfied  with  themselves. 

told  nie  that  old  Sam  Houston  lived  for  several  years 

amongst  the  Cherokee  Indians,  who  ust-d  to  call  him  "the  Ra- 
ven" or  the  "  Big  Drunk."  He  married  an  Indian  squaw  when 
he  was  with  them. 

Colonel  Ives,  aid-de-camp  to  the  President,  has  just  arrived  from 
Richmond,  and  he  seems  a  very  well  informed  and  agreeable  man. 

1  have  settled  to  take  the  route  to  Shrieveport  to-morrow,  as  it 
seems  doubtful  whether  Alexandria  will  6r  w'ill  not  fall. 

ith  Maij  (Monday.) — General  Scurry's  servant  "John"  hid 
been  most  attentive  since  he  had  been  told  oflFto  me.  I  made  him  a 
present  of  my  evening  clothes,  which  gratified  him  immensely  ;  and 
1  shook  hands  with  him  at  parting,  which  seems  to  be  quite  the 
custom.  The  Southern  gentlemen  are  certainly  able  to  treat  their 
slaves  with  extaordinary  familiarity  and  kindness.  John  told  me 
that  the  General  would  let  him  buy  his  freedom  whenever  he  chose. 
He  is  a  b.ir')er  by  trade,  and  was  earning  much  money  when  he 
insisted  on  rejoining  his  master  and  going  to  the  wars. 

I  left  Houston  by  train  for  Navasoto  at  10  a.  m.  A  Captain 
Andrews  accompanied  me  thus  far:  he  was  going  with  a  troop  of 
cavalry  to  impress  one-fourth  of  the  negroes  on  the  plantations  for 
the  Government  works  at  Galveston,  the  planters  having  been 
backward  in  coming  forward  with  their  darkies. 

Arrived  at  Navasoto  (70  miles)  at  4  p.  m.  where  I  took  a  stage 
for  Shrieveport  (250  miles.;  I  started  at  4  30  p.  m.,  after  having 
had  a  little  dispute  with  a  man  for  a  corner  seat,  and  beating  him. 

It  was  the  same  sort  of  vehicle  as  the  San  Antonio  one — eight 
people  inside.    During  the  night  there  was  a  thunderstorm. 

5th  May  /^Tuesday. j — We  breakfasted  at  Huntsville  at  5.30 
A.  M.  The  Federal  officers  captured  in  the  Harriet  Lane  ire  con- 
fined in  the  penitentiary  there,  and  are  not  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war.  This  seems  to  be  the  system  now  with  regard  to  ofl5cers 
since  the  enlistment  of  negroes  by  the  Northerners. 

My  fellow  travelers  were  mostly  elderly  planters  or  legislators,, 
and  there  was  one  judge  from  Louisiana.  Oho  of  them  produced 
a  pair  of  boots  which  had  cost  him  -SlOO;  another  showed  me  a 
common  wide-awake  hat  which  had  cost  him  $40.  In  Houston  I 
myself  saw  an  English  regulation  infantry  sword  exposed  for  sale 
lor  $225  (de45.) 

As  the  military  element  did  not  predominate,  my  companions 
united  in  speaking  with  horror  of  the  depredations  committed  in 
this  part  of  the  country  by  their  own  troops  on  a  line  of  march. 

We  passed  through  a  well-wooded  country — pines  and  post-oaks 


41 

— the  road  bad:  crossed  the  river  Trinity  at  12  Bdon^  and  diried 
at  the  house  of  a  disreputable-looking  individual,  called  a  Camp- 
bellite  minister,  at  4.30  p.  m.  The  food  consisted  almost  invaria- 
bly of  bacon,  corn  bread,  and  bu1ter-niilk  :  a  meal  costing  a  dollar. 

Arrived  at  Crockett  at  9.30  p  m.,  where  we  halted  for  a  few 
hours.  A  filthy  bed  was  given  to  the  Louisianian  Judge  and  my- 
self. The  Judge,  following  my  example,  took  to  it  boots  and  all, 
remarking,  as  he  did  so,  to  the  attendant  negro,  that  "  they  were 
a  d — d  sight  cleaner  than  the  bed." 

Before  reaching  Crockett,  we  passed  through  the  encampment 
of  Phillipp's  regiment  of  I'exas  Rangers,  and  we  underwent  much 
chaff.     They  were  m  route  to  resist  Banks. 

Q>th  May  (Wednes_day.) — We  left  all  the  passengers  at  Crockett 
€xcei)t  the  Louisianian  Judge,  a  Government  agent,  and  the  ex- 
boat.swain  of  the  Harriet  Lane,  which  vessel  had  been  manned  hy 
the  Confederates  after  her  capture;  but  she  had  since  been  dis- 
mantled, and  her  crew  were  l)eing  marched  to  Shrieveport  to  man 
the  iron-clad  Missouri,  which  was  being  huill  there. 

The  food  which  wegeton  Ihe  road  is  sufficient,  and  good  enough 
to  support  life ;  it  consists  of  pork  or  bacon,  lifead  made  with  Indi- 
an corn,  and  a  peculiar  mixture  called  Confederate  coffee,  made  of 
rye,  meal,  Indian  corn,  or  sweet  potatoes.  The  loss  of  coffee  af- 
flicts the  Confederates  even  more  than  the  loss  of  spirits  ;  and  they 
■exercise  their  ingenuity  in  devising  substitutes,  which  are  not  gene- 
rally veryf^uccestsful. 

The  same  sort  of  country  as  yesterday,  viz. — large  forests  of 
pines  and  post-oaks,  and  occasional  Indian  corn  fields,  the  trees 
having  been  killed  by  cutting  a  circle  near  the  roots.     At  3  p.m. 

we  took  in  four  more  passengers.     One  of  them  was  a  Major , 

brother-in-law  to ,  who  hanged  Montgomery  at  Brownsville. 

He  spoke  uf  the  exploit  of  his  relative  with  some  pride.     He  told 
me  that  his  three  brothers  had  lost  an  arm  apiece  in  the  war. 

We  arrived  at  Rusk  at  6.30  p.  m,  and  spent  a  few  hours  there; 
but  notwithstanding  the  boasted  splendor  of  the  beds  at  the  Cher- 
okee Hotel,  and  although  by  Major 's  in'fluence  I  got   one  to 

myself,  yet  I  did  not  consider  its  aspect  sufficiently  inviting  to  in- 
duce me  to  remove  ray  clothes. 

1th  May  (Thursday.) — We  started  again  at  1.30  a.  m.,  in  a 
smaller  coach,  but  luckily  with  reduced  numbers, — viz.,  the  Louisi- 
anian Judge,  who  is  also  a  legislator,  a  Mississippi  planter,  the 
boat-swain,  the  government  agent,  and  a  Captain  Wiiliams  of  the 
Texas  Rangers. 

Before  the  day  broke  we  reached  a  bridge  over  a  stream  cal'ed 
Mud  Creek,  which  was  la  such  a  dilapidated  condition  that  all 


42 

hands  had  to  get  out  and  cover  over  the  biggest  holes  with  planks. 

The  government  agent  informed  us  that  he  sfill  held  a  commis- 
sion as  adjiitant-genenil  to .     The  latter,  it  appears,  is  a 

cross  between  a  guerrilla  and  a  horse  thief,  and,  even  hy  his  adju- 
tant-general's account,  he  seems  to  be  an  equal  adept  at.  both  pro- 
fessions. The  aci.'ounts  of  his  forays  in  Arkansas  were  hiu^ily 
amusing,  but  ratiier  strongly  seasoned  for  a  legitimate  soldier. 

The  Judge  was  a  very  gentlemanlike  nice  old  man.  Both  he 
and  the  adjutant-general  were  much  knocked  up  by  the  journey; 
but  I  revived  the  toruier  with  the  last  of  the 'luiinortalite  rum. 
The  latter  was  in  very  weak  health,  and  does'nt  expect  to  live 
long ;  but,  he  ardently  hoped  to  destroy  a  few  more  "  blue-bel- 
lies"* before  he  •'  goes  under." 

The  Mississi|)|)i  planter  had  abandoned  his  estate  near  Vicks- 
burg,  and  withdrawn  with  the  remnant  of  his  slaves  into  Texas. 
The  Judge  also  had  lost  all  his  property  in  New  Orleans.  la 
fact,  every  other  man  one  meets  has  been  more  or  less  ruined  since 
the  war,  but  all  speak  of  their  losses  with  the  greatest  equaniunty. 
Captain  Williams  was  a  tall,  cadaverous  backwoodsman,  who  had 
lost  his  health  in  the  war.  He  spoke  of  the  Federal  General 
Eo -ecrans  with  great,  respect,  and  he  passed  the  following  high 
encomium  upon  the  Northwestern  troops,  under  Rosecrans'  com- 
mand— 

"  f  They're  reglar  great  big  h — llsnorters,  the  same  breed  as  our- 
selves. They  don't  want  no  running  after, — Ihey  don't.  They 
ain't  no  Dutch  cavalry t — you  bet!" 

To  my  surprise  all  the  party  were  willing  to  agree  that,  a  few 
years  ago,  most  educated  men  in  the  South  regarded  slavery  as 
a  misfortune  and  not  justifiable,  though  necessary  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. But  tiie  niedd.ing  coercive  conduct,  of  the  detested 
and  despised  abolitionists  had  caused  the  bonds  to  be  drawa  much 
tighter. 

My  fellow-travelers  of  all  classes  are  much  given  to  talk  to  me 
about  their  "  peculiar  institution,"  and  they  are  most  anxious  that 
I  should  see  as  much  of  it  as  possible,  in  order  that  I  may  be  con- 
vinced that  ir.  is  not  so  bad  as  has  been  represented,  and  that  they 
are  not  all  "  Legrees,"  although  they  do  not  attempt  to  deny  that 
there  are  many  instances  of  cruelty.  But  they  say  a  man  who  is 
known  to  illtreat  his  negroes  is  hated  by  all  the  rest  of  the  com- 
munity. They  declare  that  the  Yatd^ees  uiake  the  worst  masters 
when  they  settle  in  the  South;  and  ail  seem  to  be  perfectly 
aware  that  slavery,  which  they  did  not  invent,  but  which  they  iu- 

*  The  Union  soldiers  are  called  "  blue-bellies"  on  account  their  blue  uni- 
forms. ^  These  often  call  the  Coiitedenites  "graybacks." 

t  German  dragoons,  much  despised  by  the  Texans  on  account  of  their  style 
of  ridiiig. 


43 

heritecl  from  us  (English.)  is  and  always  will  be  the  great  bar  to 
the  sympathy  of  the  civilized  world.  1  have  heard  these  words 
used  over  and  over  again. 

All  the  villages  through  which  we  passed  were  deserted  except 
by  women  and  very  old  men  ;  their  aspect  was  most  melanclioly. 
The  country  is  sandy  and  the  land  not  fertile,  but  the  timber  is 
fine. 

We  met  several  planters  on  the  road,  who  with  their  families 
and  negroes  were  taking  refuge  in  Texas,  after  having  abandoned 
their  plantations  in  Louisiana  on  the  approach  of  Banks.  One  of 
them  had  as  many  as  sixfy  slaves  with  him  of  all  ages  and  sizes. 

At  7  p.  M.  we  received  an  unwelcome  addition  to  our  party,  in 
the  shape  of  three  huge,  long-legged,  unwashed,  odoriferous  Texan 
soldiers,  and  we  passed  a  wretched  night  in  consequence.  The 
Texans  are  certainly  not  prone  to  take  offence  where  they  see 
none  is  intended  ;  for  when  this  irruption  took  place,  I  could'nt 
help  remarking  to' the  Judge,  with  regard  to  the  most  obnoxious 
man  who  was  o<'cupyi  g  the  centre  seat  to  our  mutual  discomfort, 
— "  I  say,  Judge,  this  gentleman  has  got  the  longest  legs  I 
ever  saw."  "  lias  he?"  replied  the  Judge  ;  "  and  he  has  got  the 
d — dest,  longest,  hardest  back  I  ever  felt."  The  Texan  was 
highly  aliuised  l)y  these  remarks  upon  his  personal  appearance, 
and  apologized  for  his  peculiarities.  Crossed  the  Sabine  river  at 
11.30  p.  M. 

St/i  May  (Friday.) — We  reached  Marshall  at  3  a.  m.  and  got 
four  hours'  sleep  there.  We  then  got  into  a  railroad  for  sixteen 
niiles»  after  which  we  were  crammed  into  another  stage. 

Crossed  the  frontier  into  Louisaina  at  11  a.  m.  I  have  therefore 
been  nearly  a  month  getting  through  the  single  State  of  Texas. 
Reached  Shrieveport  at  3,  p.  m.;  and,  after  washing  for  the  first 
time  in  five  days,  I  called  on  Gen.  Kirby  Smith,  who  commands 
the  whole  country  on  this  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

He  is  a  Floridian  by  birth,  was  educated  at  West  Point,  and 
served  in  the  United  States  cavalry.  He  is  only  thirty-eight  years 
old  ;  and  he  owes  his  rapid  ri^^e  to  a  lieutenant-general  to  the  fortu- 
nate fact  of  his  having-fallen,  just  at  the  very  nick  of  time,  upon 
the  Yankee  flank  at  the  first  battle  of  Manassas.* 

He  is  a  remarkably  active  man,  and  of  very  agreeable  manners ; 
he  wears  big  spectacles  and  a  black  beard. 

His  wife  is  an  extremely  pretty  woman,  from  Baltimore,  but 
she  had  cut  her  hair  quite  short  like  a  man's.  In  the  evening  she 
proposed  that  we  shoi'ld  go  down  to  the  river  and  fish  for  cray- 
fish. We  did  so,  and  were  most  successful,  the  General  display- 
ing much  energy  on  the  occasion. 

*  Called  by  the  Yankees  "  Ball  Run." 


44 

He  told  me  that  M'Clellan  mi^ht  probably  have  destroyed  the 
Southern  army  with  the  jrreatest  ease  during  the  first  winter,  and 
"witliout  running  much  risk  to  himself,  as  the  Southerners  were  so 
much  over-elated  l)y  their  easy  triumph  at  Manassas,  and  iheir  ar- 
my had  dwindled  away. 

I  was  introduced  to  Governor  r^foore,  of  Louisiana,  to  the  Lieu- 
tenunt  governor  Hyams,  and  also  to  the  exiled  Governor  of  Mis- 
souri, Reynolds. 

Governor  Moore  told  me  he  had  been  on  the  Red  River  since 
1824,  from  which  date  until  1840  it  had  been  very  unheathy.  He 
thinks  that  Dickens  must  have  intended  Shrieveport  by  "  Eden.'  * 

Governor  Reynolds,  of  Missouri,  told  me  he  found  iiimselfin  the 
unfortunate  condition  of  a  potentate  exiled  from  his  dominions; 
but  he  showed  me  an  address  which  he  had  issued  to  his 
Missourians,  [iromising  to  be  with  them  at  the  head  of  an  army  to 
deliver  them  from  their  oppressors.. 

Shrieveport  is  rather  a  decent-looking  place  on  the  Red  River. 
It  contains  about  3.000  inhabitants,  and  is  at.  present  the  seat  of 
the  Louisiana  Legislature  vice  Baton  Rouge.  But  only  twenty- 
eight  members  of  the  Lower  Hcuise  had  arrived  as  yet,  and  busi- 
ness could  not  be  commenced  with  less  than  tifty. 

The  river  now  is  broad  and  rapid,  and  it  is  navigated  by  large 
steamers  ;  its  banks  are  low  and  very  fertile,  but  reputed  to  be  ve- 
ry unhealthy. 

General  Kirby  Smith  advised  me  to  go  to  Munroe,  and  try  to 
cross  the  Mississippi  Irom  thence;  he  was  so  uncertain  as  to  Alex- 
andria that  he  was  afraid  to  send  a  steamer  so  far. 

I  heard  much  talk  at  his  house  about  the  late  Federal  raid  into 
the  Mississippi,!  which  seems  to  be  a  copy  of  John  Morgan's  ope- 
rations, except  that  the  Federal  raid  was  made  in  a  thinly  popu- 
lated country,  bereft  of  its  male  inhabitants. 

9/h  May  (Saturday.) — Started  again  by  stage  for  IVFunroe  at 
4..^0  A.M.  My  companions  were,  the  Mississippi  planter,  a  mad 
drfutist  from  New  Orleans,  called  by  courtesy,  doctor,  an  old  man 
from  Matagorda,  buying  slaves  cheap  in  Louisiana,  a  wounded  of- 
ficer and  a  wounded  soldier. 

The  soldier  was  a  very  intelligent  young  Missourian,  who  told 
me,  as  others  have,  that,  at  the  commencement  of  these  troubles, 
both  he  and  his  family  were  strong  Unionists.  But  the  Lincolnites, 
by  using  coercion,  had  forced  them  to  take  one  side  or  the  other 
— and  there  are  now  no  more  bitter  Secessionists  then  these  peo- 
ple.   This  soldier,  Mr.  Douglas,  was  on  his  way  to  rejoin  Bragg's 

*  I  believe  this  is  a  mistake  of  Governor  Moore.    I  have  always  understood 
Cairo  was  Eden. 
tGrierson's  raid. 


45 

.-army.  A  Confederate  soldier  when  wounded  is  not  given  his  dis- 
charge, but  is  employed  at  t^uch  work  as  he  is  competent  to  per- 
form. Mr.  Douglas  was  quite  lame  ;  but  \vill  be  employed  at 
mounted  duties  or  at  writing. 

We  passed  several  large  and  fertile  plantations.  The  negro 
quarters  formed  little  vilkires,  and  seemed  comfortable :  some  of 
them  held  150  or  200  hands.  We  afterwards  drove  through  some 
beautiful  pine  forests,  and  were  flurried  across  a  beautiful  shallow 
lake  full  of  cypresses,  but  not  the  least  like  the  European  cypress- 
trees. 

We  met  a  number  more  planters  drlvin.i?  their  fam'ilies,  their 
slaves,  and  furniture,  towards  Texas — in  fact,  every  thing  that 
they  could  save  from  the  ruin  that  had  befallen  tiiem  on  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Federal  troops. 

At  5  p.  M.  we  reached  a  charming  little  town,  called  Mindon, 
where  I  met  an  English  mechanic  who  deplored  to  me  that,  he  had 
been  such  a  fool  as  to  naturalize  himself,  as  he  was  in  hourly  dread 
of  the  conscription. 

I  have  at  length  become  quite  callous  to  many  of  the  horrors  of 
stage  traveling.  1  no  longer  shrink  at  every  rand(mi  shower  of  to- 
bacco-juice; nor  do  I  shudder  when  good-natured lybfifered  a  quid. 
I  eat  voraciously  of  the  bacon  that  is  provided  for  my  sustenance, 
and  I  am  invariably  treated  by  my  fellow-traveiers  of  all  grades 
with  the  greatest  consideration  and  kindness.  Sometimes  a  man 
remarks  that  it  is  rather  '*  mean"  of  England  not  to  recognize  the 
South;  but  I  can  always  shut  him  up  by  saying,  that  a  nation 
which  deserves  itii  independence  should  fight  and  earn  it;  for  it- 
self— a  sentiment  which  is  invariably  agr^^d  ta  by  all. 

10^7^.  May  [Sunday,] — I  spent  a  very  rough  night  in  consequence 
of  the  badness  of  the  road,  the  jolting  of  the  carriage,  and  having 
to  occupy  a  centre  seat. 

In  the  morning  we  received  news  from  every  one  we  met  of  the 
faJl  of  Alexandria. 

The  road  to-day  was  alive  with  negroes,  who  are  being  "run" 
into  Texas  out  of  Bank's  way.  We  must  have  met  hundreds  of 
them,  and  many  families  of  planters,  who  were  much  to  be  pitied,, 
especially  the  ladies. 

On  approaching  Munroe,  we  passed  through  \he  camp  of  Walk- 
•er's  division  8,000  strong,  which  was  on  its  inarch  from  Arkansas 
to  meet  Banks.  The  division  had  embarked  in  steamers,  and  had 
already  started  down  the  "  Wachita"  towards  the  Red  River,  when 
the  news  arrived  of  the  fall  of  Alexandria,  and  of  the  presence  of 
Federal  gunboats  in  or  near  the  Wachita  itself.  This  caused  the 
precipitate  return  and  disembarkation  of  Walker's  division.  The 
men  were  well  armed  with  rifles  and  bayonets,  but  they  were  dressed 


46 

in  raffgecl  civilian  clothes.    The  old  ^fatagorda  man  recognized  his 
son  in  one  of  these  regiments — a  perfect  boy. 

Mu'nroe  is  on  the  "  Wachita,"  pronounced  Washtaw,  which  is  a 
very  pretty  and  wide  stream.  After  crossing  it  we  arrived  at 
the  hotel  after  dark. 

Universal  confusion  reiirned  there  ;  it  was  full  of  offirers  and 
soldiers  of  Walker's  division,  and  no  person  would  take  the  slight- 
est notice  of  us. 

In  desperation  T  called  on  General  Hebert,  who  commanded  the 
post.  I  told  him  who  I  was.  and  jrave  him  a  letter  of  introtluc- 
tion,  whicli  I  had  fortunately  hronirhf  from  Kirby  Smith.  1  stated 
my  hard  case,  and  be>«onght  an  asylum  for  the  night,  which  he  im- 
medialely  accorded   me  in  his  own  house. 

The  di'l:culty  of  crossing  the  Mississippi  appeared  to  increase  the 
nearer  1  got  to  it,  and  General  IJebert  told  me  that  it  was  very 
doulitful  whether  T  could  cross  at  all  at  this  point.  The  Yankee 
gunboats,  which  had  forced  their  way  past  Vicksburg  and  Port 
Hudson,  were  roaming  about  the  ^Mississippi  and  Red  River,  and 
some  of  them  were  reported  at  theentrance  of  the  Wachita  itself,  a 
small  fort  at  Harrisonburg  being  the  only  impediment  to  their  ap- 
pearance in  front  of  Munroe. 

On  another  side,  the  enemy's  forces  were  close  to  Delhi,  only 
forty  miles  distant. 

There  were  forty  or  fifty  Yankee  deserters  here  from  the  army 
besieging  Vicksburg.  These  Yankee  deserters,  on  being  asked  their 
reasons  for  deserting,  generally  reply, — "Our  government  has  bro- 
ken failh  with  us.  We  enlisted  to  fiifht  for  tlie  Union,  and  not 
to  liberate  tlieG — d  d — d  niggers,'  Vicksburg  is  distant  from  this 
place  about  eighty  miles. 

The  news  of  General  Lee's  victory  at  Chancellorsville  had  just 
arrived  here.  Every  one  received  it  very  coolly,  and  seemed  to 
take  it  quite  as  a  matter  of  course;  but  the  wound  of  Stonewall 
Jackson  was  universally  deplored. 

lltJi  May,  Monday. — General  Hebert  is  a  good-looking  Creole* 
He  was  a  West-Pointer,  and  served  in  tlie  old  army,  i)ut  afterwards 
became  a  wealthy  sugar-planter.  He  used  to  hold  Magruder's  posi- 
tion'as  commander-in-chief  in  'JVxas,  but  he  has  now  been  shelved 
at  Munroe,  when-  he  expects  to  be  taken  prisoner  any  day;  and, 
from  the  present  gloomy  aspect  of  affairs  al)out  here,  it  seems  ex- 
tremely proi)able  that  he  will  not  be  disappointed  in  his  expecta- 

*  The  descendants  of  the  French  colonlstR  in  Louisiana  are  called  Creoles  : 
most  of  them  talk  French,  aud  I  have  often  met  Louisianiau  legime'nts 
taJ^ing  that  language. 


47- 

tions.  He  is  extremely  down  upon  England  for  not  recognizing  the 
South,* 

He  gave  me  a  passage  down  the  river  in  a  steamer,  which  was 
to  try  to  take  provisions  to  Harrisonburg  ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
he  informed  me  that  she  might  very  probably  be  captured  by  a 
Yankee  gunboat. 

At  1  p.  M.  I  embarked  for  Harrisonburg,  which  is  distant  from 
Munroe  by  water  150  miles,  and  by  land  75  miles.  It  is  fortified, 
and  offers  what  was  considered  a  weak  obstruction  to  the  passage 
of  the  gunboats  up  the  river  to  Munroe. 

The  steamer  was  one  of  the<;urious  American  river  boats,  which 
rise  to  a  tremendous  heiglit  out  of  the  water,  like  great  wooden 
castles.  She  was  steered  from  a  box  at  the  very  top  of  all,  and 
this  particular  one  was  propelled  by  one  wheel  at  her  stern. 

The  river  is  quite  beautiful;  it  is  from  200  to  300  yards  broad, 
very  deep  and  tortuous,  and  the  large  trees  grow  right  down  to. 
the  very  edge  of  the  water. 

Our  captain  at  starting  expressed   in  very  plain  terms  his   ex-, 
treme  disgust  at  the  ex))edition,  and  said  he  fully  expected  to  run 
against  a  gunboat  at  any  turn  of  the  river. 

Soon  after  leaving  Munroe,  we  passed  a  large  plantation. 
The  negro  quarters  were  larger  than  a  great  many  Texan  towns, 
and  they  held  three  hundred  hands. 

After  we  had  proceeded  about  half  an  hour,  we  were  stopped  by 
amounted  orderly,  called  a  courier,  who  from  the  bank  roared  out 
the  pleasing  information,  "  They're  a-fighting  at  Harrisonburg." 
The  captain  on  hearing  this  turned  quite  green  in  the  face,  and 
remarked  that  he'd  be  "  dogyed'  if  he  liked  running  into  the  jaws 
of  a  lion,  and  he  proposed  to  turn  back  ;  but  he  was  jeered  at  by  my 
fellow-travelers,  who  were  all  either  officers  or  soldiers,  wishing 
to  cross  .the  Mississippi  to  rejoin  their  regiments  in  the  different 
Confederate  arndes. 

One  pleasant  fellow,  more  warlike  than  the  rest,  suggested  that 
as  we  had  someEnfields  on  board,  we  should  make  "a  little  bit  of 
a  fig!  t,"  or  at  least  "make  one  butt  at  a  gunboat."  I  was  relieved 
to  find  that  these  insane  proposals  were  not- received  with  any  en- 
thusiasm by  the  n\ajority. 

The  plantations  as  we  went  further  down  the  river,  looked  ve- 
ry prosperous  ;  but  signs  of  preparation   for  immediate  skedad- 

*  General  Hebert  is  the  only  man  (»f  educaticin  I  met  in  tbe  whole  of  my 
travels  who  pp..ke  disagreeably  ab(»ut  England  in  this  respect.  Most  people 
say' they  think  we  are  quite  right  to  keep  out  of  it  as  long  as  we 
can;  but  others  think  our  government  is  foolish  to  miss  such  a  splendid 
chance  of  "smashing  tha  Yaukees,"  with  whom  we  must  have  a  row  sooner 
or  later. 


48 

•dling:  'were  visible  m  riiostof  them,  and  I  fear  they  are  all  des- 
tined  to  be  soon  desolate  and  destroyed. 

"We  t-ame  to  a  coniier  picket  every  sixteen  miles.  At  one  of 
Ibem  we  ^^ot  the  information.  "Gimboats  drove  back."  at.  which 
there  was  ^reat  rejoii.-injj',  and  the  captain  rccorering  his  spirts,  be- 
came quite  jocose,  and  vobinfcercd  lo  giv(^  me  letters  of  introduc- 
tion to  a  "particular  friend  of  his  about  here,  called  Mr.  Farragu;"' 
but  the  next  news,  "  Still  a-fijrhtin',"  eaus(^Hl  ns  to  tie  ourselves  to 
atree  at  6  p.  M..offa  little  village  called  Columbia,  wJiich  is  half- 
"way  between  Munroe  and  Harrisonburg. 

We  then  lit  a  large  tire,  roimd  which  all  the  passengers  squatted 
on  their  heels  in  Texat^i  fashion,  each  man  whit  ling  a  ])ieceof  wood, 
and  (]iscTi»iug  the  merits" of  the  dilTerent  Yankee  prisons  at  New 
Orleans  or  Cliicago.  One  of  them,  seeing  me,  called  out,  "I  reckon, 
Kernel,  it'  the  Yankees  catch  you  with  us,  they'll  say  you're  in 
■d — d  bad  company  ;"  which  sally  caused  universal  hilarity.. 

12tA  May,  Tuesday. — Shortly  after  daylight,  three  negroes  ar- 
rived from  Harrisonburg,  and  'they  described  the  fight  assiill  going 
-on.  'J'hey  said  thvy  were  "  dreadful  skeered;"  and  one  of  theui 
told  me  he  would  "  rather  be  a  slave  to  his  master  alKhis  life, 
than  a  whit^  man  and  a  soldier."  T- 

During  the  morning  some  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  left,  the 
boat,  and  determined  to  cut  across  the  cotmtry  to  Harrisonburg, 
but  I  w^uld  not  abandon  the  scanty  remains  of  my  baggage  until 
I  was  forced  to  do  so. 

During  the  morning  twelve  more  negroes  arrived  from  Harii- 
sonburg.  it  appears  that  three  hundred  of  them,  the  property  of 
neigblwjring  planters,  had  been  engaged  working  on  the  fortifica- 
tions, but  they  all  with  one  accord  bolted  when  the  first,  shell  was 
fired.  'J'heir  only  idea  and  hope  at  ])resent  seemed  to  be  to  get 
back  to  tlveir  masters.  All  spoke  of  the  Yankees  with  great  de- 
testation, and  expressed  wishes  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  such 
"'bad  people." 

Our  captain  coolly  employed  them  in  tearing  down  the  fences^ 
•and  carrying  the  wood  away  on  board  the  steamer  for  firewood. 

We  did  nothing  but  this  all  day  long,  the  captain  being  afraid 
to  go  on,  and  unwilling  to  return.  In  theevening  anew  alarm 
seized  him — viz.,  that  tlie  Federal  cavalry  had  cutoff"  the  Confed- 
erate line  of  couriers.  During  the  night  we  remained  in  the  same 
position  as  last  night,  bead  up  stream,  and  ready  to  be  off  at  a 
moment's  notice.* 

V6th  Jlirtj/,. Wednesday. — There  was  a  row  on  board  last  night ; 

*  One  of  the  passengers  on  board  this  steamer  was  Captain  Biirney,  of  thfr 
Co\ifederate  States  Navy,  who  has  since,  I  believe,  succeeded  Captain  Maffit 
in  the  eojumaad  of  the  Florida. 


49 

or.e  of  the  officers  having  been  too  attentive  to  a  lady,  had  to  ske- 
daddle suddenly  into  the  woods,  in  order  to  escape  t\ye  fury  of  her 
protector,  and  he  has  not  thought  it  advisable  to  reappear.  My 
trusty  companion  for  several  days,  the  poor  young  Missourian,  was 
takt?n  ill  to-day,  and  told  me  he  had  a  "  right  smart  little  fever  on 
him"  il  doctored  him  with  some  of  the  physic  which  Mr.  Ma- 
loney  had  given  me,  and  he  got  better  in  the  evening. 

We  had  ])ickets  out  in  the  woods  last  night.  Two  of  my  fel- 
low-travelers on  that  duty  fell  in  with  a  negro,  and  pretending  they 
■were  Yankees,  asked  him  lo  join  them.  He  consented,  and  even 
volimteer^'d  to  steal  his  masier's  hurses  ;  and  he  then  received  a 
tremendous  thrashing,  administered  by  the  two  soldiers  with  their 
ramrods. 

At  9  p.  M.,  to  the  surprise  of  all,  the  captain  suddenly  made  up 
his  mind. to  descend  the  river  at  ail  hazards,  thinking,  I  suppose, 
that  any  thing  was  better  than  the  uncertainty  of  the  last  twen- 
ty-four hours. 

The  further  ,we  went,  the  more  beautiful  was  the  scenery. 

At  4  p.  M.  we  were  assured  by  a  citizen  on  the  bank  that  the 
gunboats  really  had  retreated  ;  and  at  5  30  our  doubts  were  set  at 
rest,  to  our  great  sal istaction,  by  descrying  the  Confederate  flag 
flying  from  Fort  Beauregard,  high  al)ove  the  little  town  of  Harri- 
sonburg. Afier  we  had  landed,  {  presented  my  letter  of  introduc- 
tion from  General  Hebert  to  Colonel  Logan,  who  commands  the 
fort.     He  introduced  me  to  a  German  officer,  the  engineer. 

They  gave  rae  an  account  of  the  attack  and  repulse  of  the  four 
Federal  gunboats  under  Commodore  Woodford  and  supposed 
to  have  been  the  Pitr*;burg,  ironckd,  the  General  Price,  the  Arizo- 
na, and  another. 

Fort  Beauregnrd  is  a  much  more  formidable  looking  work  than 

1  expected  to  see,  and  its  strength  had  evidently  been  much  un- 
derrated at  Monroe.  •;, 

A  hill  190  feet  l^igh,  which  rises  just  in  rear  of  Harrisonburg, 
has  been  scarped  and  fortified.  Ir  is  situated  at  an  angle  of  the 
river,  and  faces  a  long  "  reach"  of  two  miles. 

The  gunboats  after  demanding  an  unconditional  surrender,  which 
was  treated  with  great  contempt  by  Colonel  Logan,  opened  fire  at 

2  P.  M.  on  Sunday,  and  kept  it  up  till  6.30,  tiu'owing  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  9  and  11  inch  shell.  The  gunboats  reopened 
again  for  al)out  an  hour  on  Monday  afternoon,  when  they  final- 
ly withdrew,  the*Arizona  being  crippled. 

The  fort  fired  altogether  about  forty-five  32-pound  shot,  smooth 
bore.    The  range  was  about  a  mile. 

The  garrison  thought  that  they  had  loosened  several  of  the  Pitts- 
burg's iron-plates.  Thev  felt  coulident  that  they  could  have  sunk 
4 


50 

the  wooden  vessels  if  they  had  attempted  to  force  the  passaore  ; 
and  they  were  natural'y  much  elatfd  with  their  success,  which 
certainly  had  not  been  anticipated  on  board  my  steamer  or  at 
Munroe. 

I  had  not  time  to  visit  the  interior  of  the  fort,  hut  T  saw  the  ef- 
fect of  the  shell  upon  the  outside.  Those  which  fell  in  liie  sand 
did  not  burst.  Only  three  men  were  wounded  in  the  jrarrison."  They 
told  me  the  deck  of  tiie  Pittsburg  was  furnished  with  a  parapet 
of  cotton  bales  fur  riflemen. 

The  river  at  Harrisonburg  is  about  160  yards  broad,  and  very 
deep,  with  a  moderate  current.  The  town  being  between  the  ves- 
sels and  the  fort,  had,  of  course,  suflft^-ed  considerably  during  the 
bombardment. 

When  the  works  are  complete  they  will  be  much  more  formida- 
ble. 

To  our  great  joy  Colonel  Logan  decided  that  our  vessel  should 
proceed  at  once  to  Trinity,  which  is  fifteen  miles  nearer  Katchez, 
on  the  Mississippi,  than  Harrisonburg.  We  arrived  there  at  8  p.  m., 
and  found  that  the  gunboats  had  only  just  left,  after  having  de- 
stroyed all  the  molasses  and  rum  they  could  find,  and  carried  away 
a  few  negroes. 

Six  of  us  pigged  in  one  very  small  room,  paying  a  dollar  each  for 
this  luxury  to  an  old  woman,  who  was  most  inhospitable,  and  told 
us  "she  did'nt  want  to  see  no  soldiers,  as  the  Yanks  would  come 
back  and  burn  her  house  for  harboring  rebels."  I  am  always  ta- 
ken for  a  Confederate  oflRcer,  partly  from  being  in  their  company, 
and  partly  on  account  of  my  clothes,  which  hapjien  to  be  a  gray 
shooting-suit,  almost  the  same  color  as  most  of  the  soldiers'  coats. 

lith  May,  Thursday.— The  otficers  and  soldiers,  about  thirty  in 
number,  who  came  down  the  Wachita  in  my  company,  determined 
to  proceed  to  IS'atchez  to-day,  and  a  very  hard  day's  work  we  had 
of  it. 

As  the  Louisianian  bank  of  the  Mississippi  is  completely  over- 
flowed at  this  time  of  year,  and  the  river  itself  is  infested  with 
the  enemy's  gunboats,  which  have  run  past  Yi<^'l^sburg  and  Port 
Hudson,  the  passage  can  only  be  made  by  a  tedious  journey  in 
small  boats  through  the  swamps  and  l)ayous. 

Our  party  left  Trinity  at  6  a.  m.  in  one  big  yawl  and  three 
skiffs.  In  my  skiff  were  eight  persons,  besides  a  negro  oarsman 
named  "Tucker."  We  had  to  take  itinturnsMo  row  with  this 
worthy,  and  I  soon  discovered  to  my  cost  the  inconvenience  of 
sitting  in  close  proximity  with  a  perspiring  darkie.  This  negro 
was  a  very  powerful  man,  very  vain,  and  susceptible  of  flattery. 
I  won  his  heart  by  asking  him  if  he  wasn't  worth  $6,000.  We 
kept  him  up  to  the  mark  throughout  the  journey  by  plying  him 


51 

with  compliments  upon  his  strength  and  skill.  One  officer  de- 
clared to  him  that  he  should  try  to  marry  his  mistress  (a  widow) 
on  purpose  to  own  him. 

Aft«r  beating  up  for  about  eiffht  miles  against  one  of  three 
streams  which  unite  at.  and  give  its  name  to,  Trinity,  we  turned 
off  to  the  right,  and  got  into  a  large  dense  swamp.  The  thicket 
was  so  tan^Hed  and  impenetrable  that  we  experienced  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  forcing  our  way  through  it;  we  were  often  obliged  to 
get  into  the  watt-r  up  to  our- middles  and  shove,  whilst  most  of  the 
partry  walked  along  an  embankment. 

After  two  hours  and  a  half  of  this  sort  of  work  we  had  to  carry 
our  boats  bodily  over  the  eml)ankment  into  a  bayou  called  Log 
Bayou,  on  account  of  the  numerous  floating  logs  which  had  to  be 
encountered.  We  then  crossed  a  large  and  beautiful  lake,  which 
led  us  into  another  distnal  swamp,  quite  as  tangled  as  the  former 
one.  Here  we  lost  our  way.  and  trot  aground  several  times  ;  but 
at  length,  after  great  exertions,  we  forced  ourselves  through  it,  and 
reached  Lake  Concordia,  a. fine  piece  of  water,  several  miles  in 
extent,  and  we  were  landed  at,  dusk  on  the  plantation  of  a  Mr.  Da- 
vis. These  bayous  and  swamps  abound  with  alligators  and  snakes 
of  the  most  venomous  description.  I  saw  many  of  the  latter 
swinmiing  about  exposed  to  a  heavy  fire  of  six-shooters  ;  but  the 
alligators  were  frightened  away  by  the  leading  boat. 

The  yawl  and  one  of  the  skiffs  beat  us,  and  their  passengers 
reached  Natchez  about  9  p.m.,  but  the  other  skifif,  which  could  not 
boast  of  a  Tucker,  was  lost  in  the  swamp,  and  passed  the  night 
there  in  a  wretched  plight. 

The  weather  was  most  disagreeable,  either  a  burning  sun  or  a 
downpour  of  rain. 

The  distance  we  did  in  the  skiff  was  about  twenty-eight  miles, 
which  took  us  eleven  hours  to  perform. 

On  landing  we  hired  at  Mr.  Davis's  a  small  cart  for  Mr.  Doug- 
las (the  wounded  Missourian)  and  our  baggage,  and  we  had  to 
finish  the  day  by  a  trudge  of  three  miles  through  deep  mud,  until, 
at  length,  we  reached  a  place  called  Vidalia,  which  is  on  the  Lou- 
isianian  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  just  opposite  Natchez. 

At  Vidalia  T  got  the  immense  luxury  of  a  pretty  good  bed,  all 
to  myself,  which  enabled  me  to  take  off  my  clothes  and  boots  for 
the  first  time  in  ten  days. 

The  landlord  told  us  that  three  of  the  enemy's  gunboats  bad 
passed  during  the  day;  and  as  he  said  their  crews  were  often  in 
the  habit  of  landing  at  Vidalia,  he  cautioned  the  military  to  be 
ready  to  bolt  into  the  woods  at  any  time  during  the  night. 

There  were  two  conscripts  on  board  my  skiff  to-day,  one  an 
Irishman  and  the  other  a  Pole.    They  confessed  to  me  privately 


52 

their  extreme  dislike  of  the  military  profession  ;  but  at  the  same 
time  they  acknowledged  the  enthusiasm  of  the  masses  for  the  war. 

I5th  May,  Friday. — I  nearly  slept  round  the  clock  after  yes- 
terday's exertions.  Mr.  Douglas  and  I  crossed  the  father  of 
rivers  and  landed  on  the  Mississippi  bank  at  9  a.  m. 

Katchez  is  a  pretty  little  town,  and  ouplit  to  contain  about  6,000 
inhabitants.  It  is  built,  on  the  lop  of  a  hijih  blufif  overlooking  the 
Mississippi  river,  which  is  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  broad 
at  this  point. 

When  I  reached  Natchez  T  hired  a  carriage,  and,  with  a  letter 
of  introduction  which  I  had  brought  troni  J5an  Antonio,  1  drove 
to  the  bouse  of  Mr.  Haller  Nutt,  distant  from  the  town  about  two 
miles. 

The  scenery  about  Natchez  is  extremely  pretty,  and  the  ground 
is  hilly,  with  filenty  of  fine  trees.  ^Ir.  Nutt's  place  reminded  me 
very  much  of  an  l^^nglish  gentlerjian's  «'ountry  s<*at,  except  that  the 
house  itself  is  rather  like  a  pagoda^  but  it  is  beautifully  furnished. 

Mr.  Nutt  was  extremely  civil,  and  was  most  anxious  that  I 
should  remain  at  Natchez  for  a  few  days;  but  now  that  I  was 
thoroughly  wound  up  for  traveling,  1  determined  to  push  on  to 
A'icksburg,  as  all  the  late  news  seemed  to  show  that  some  great 
operations  must  take  place  there  before  long. 

I  had  fondly  imagined  that  after  reaching  Natchez  my  difficul- 
ties would  have  been  over;  but  I  very  soon  discovered  that  this 
was  a  delusive  hope.  1  found  that  Natchez  was  full  of  the  most 
gloomy  rumors.  Another  Yankee  raid  seemed  to  have  been  niade 
into  the  interior  of  Mississippi,  more  railroad  is  reported  to  be  de- 
stroyed, and  great  doubts  were  expressed  whether  I  shuuld  be 
able  to  get  into  Vicksburg  at  all. 

However,  as  I  found  some  other  people  as  determined  to  pro- 
ceed as  mys.  If,  we  hired  a  carriage  for  iSlOO  to  drive  to  Brook- 
haven,  which  is  the  nearest  point  on  the  railroad,  and  is  distant 
from  Natchez  sixty-six  miles. 

My  companions  were  a  fat  Government  contractor  from  Texas, 
the  wounded  Mi.ssourian,  Mr.  Douglas,  and  an  ugly  woman,  wife 
to  a  soldier  in  Vicksburg. 

We  left  Natchez  at  12  noon,  and  were  driven  by  a  negro  named 
Nelson;  the  carriage  and  the  three  horses  belong  to  him,  and  he 
drives  it  for  his  own  profit;  but  lie  is,  nevertheless  a  slave,  and 
pays  his  owner  $4;^  a  week  to  be  allowed  to  work  on  his  own  ac- 
count. He  was  quite  as  vain  as  and  even  more  amusing  than 
Tucker.  He  said  he  "didn't  want  to  see  no  Yanks,  nor  to  be  no 
freer  than  he  is ;"  and  he  thought  the  war  had  already  lasted  four 
or  five  years. 


53 

Every  traveler  we  met  on  the  road  was  eagerly  asked  the  qneg- 
lions,  "Are  the  Yanks  in  Brookhaven  ]  Is  the  railroad  open]" 
At  first  we  received  satisfactory  replies;  but  at  6  p.  m.  we  met  an 
officer  driving  towards  Natchez  at  a  great  pace;  he  gave  us  the 
alarming  intelligence  that  Jackson  was  going  to  be  evacuated. 
Kow  as  Jackson  is  the  capital  city  of  this  State,  a  great  railroad 
junction,  and  on  the  high  road  to  every  civilized  place  from  this, 
our  feelings  may  be  imagined,  hut  we  did  not  believe  it  possible. 
On  the  other  hand  we  w^re  told  that  General  Joseph  Johnston 
had  arrived  and  assumed  the  command  in  Mississippi.  He  ap- 
pears to  be  an  officer  in  whom  every  one  places  unbounded  confi- 
dence. 

We  slept,  at  a  farm  house.  All  the  males  were  absent  at  the. 
war,  and  it  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  unfortunate  condition 
of  the  women  left  behind  in  these  farm  houses  ;  they  have  scarce- 
ly any  clothes,  and  nothing  but  the  coarsest  bacon  to  eat,  and  are 
in  miserable  uncertainty  as  to  the  fate  of  their  relations,  whom 
they  can  hardly  ever  communicate  with.  Their  slaves,  however, 
generally  remain  true  to  them. 

Our  hostess,  though  she  was  reduced  to  the  greatest  distress, 
was  well  mannered,  and  exceedingly  well  educated  ;  very  far  su- 
perior to  a  woman  of  her  station  in  England. 

16/7i  May,  Saturday. — We  started  a  little  before  daylight,  our 
team  looking  so  very  mean  that  we  expressed  doubts  as  to  their 
lasting^ — to  Mr.  Neison's  great  indignation. 

We  breakfasted  at  another  little  farm  house  on  some  unusually 
tough  bacon,  and  coffee  made  of  sweet  potatoes.    The  natives, 
under  all  their  misery,  were  red  hot  in  favor  of  fighting  for  their  . 
independence  to  the  last,  and  I  constantly  hear  the  words,  "  This 
is  the  most  unjust  war  ever  waged  upon  a  people  by  mortal  man.** 

At  11  A.  M.  we  met  a  great  crowd  of  negroes,  who  had  been  run 
into  the  swamps  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  Yankees,  and  they 
were  now  returning  to  Louisiana. 

At  2  p.  M.  a  wounded  s(»ldier  gave  us  the  deplorable  informa- 
tion that  the  enemy  really  was  on  the  railroad  between  Jackson 
and  Brookhaven,  and  that  Jackson  itself  was  in  his  hands.  This 
news  staggered  us  all,  and  Nelson  became  alarmed  for  the  safety 
of  his  wretched  animals;  but  we  all  determined  to  go  on  at  all 
hazards,  and  see  what  turned  up.  We  halted  for  dinner  at  a  farm 
house,  in  which  were  seven  virgins,  seated  all  of  a  row.  They 
were  all  good  looking,  but  shy  and  bashful  to  a  degree  I  never 
before  witnessed.  All  the  young  women  in  this  country  seem  to 
•  be  either  uncommonly  free-spoken,  or  else  extremely  shy.  The 
further  we  went,  the  more  certain  became  the  news  of  the  fall  of 
Jackson. 

We  passed  the  night  in  the  veranda  of  an  old  farmer.      Hd 


54 

told  us  that  Gn*ersoTi*s  Yankee  raid  had  captured  him  al^oiit  ihree 
weeks  ao:o.  He  thonglit  the  Yankees  were  about  loOO  strong; 
they  took  all  good  liorses,  leaving  their  worn  out  ones  behind. 
They  destroyed  railroad,  government  property,  and  arms,  and  pa- 
rolef"  all  men,  both  old  and  young,  but  ihey  commitied  no  bar- 
barities. In  this  manner  ihey  traversed  all  the  State  of  Missis- 
sii)pi  without  meeting  any  resistance.  They  were  fine  looking  men 
from  the  Northwestern  states. 

17th  May,  Stmday. — We  started  again  at  4.30  a.jvt.,  and  met 
five  wounde  I  men,  wlio  had  been  captured  and  paroled  by  Banks, 
in  Louisiana;  they  confirmed  every  thing  about  the  fall  of  Jack- 
son, whicli  made  me  consider  niyself  [)articn1arly  unfortunate,  and 
destined  ajiparently  to  be  always  intercepted  by  the  Northern 
troops,  which  had  liappened  to  be  at  Alexc\ndria,  at  Harrisonl)urg, 
and  now  again  at  Jackson.  At  8  a.  m.  we  readied  the  little  towQ 
of  Brookhaven,  which  was  full  of  travelers,  principally  Confeder- 
ate soldiers,  anxious  to  rejoin  their  regiments. 

Maxey's  brigade  left  this  place  by  road  last  night  to  join  General 
Johnston,  who  is  supposed  to  be  concentrating  his  forces  at  a  place 
called  Canton,  not  far  from  tTackson. 

I  called  on  Captain  Matthews,  the  offier  who  commanded  at 
Brookhaven,  and  after  introducing  myself  to  him,  he  promised  to 
assist  me,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  to  join  General  Johnston. 

I  then  went  to  a  Methodist  cha|.  el ;  a  good  many  soldiers  were 
there,  and  a  great  number  of  women. 

At  noon,  just  as  T  had  begun  to  get  in  very  low  spirits  about  the 
prospects  of  getting  on,  a  locomotive  arrived  from  a  station  called 
Haselhurst,  and  brought  us  the  astonishing  report  that  the  Yan- 
kees had  suddenly  abandoned  Jackson,  after  destroying  all  the 
government  and  a  good  deal  of  private  property. 

This  news  caused  our  prospects  to  look  brighter. 

l^th  May,  Monday. — On  getting  up  this  morning,  every  thing 
pppeared  very  uncertain,  and  a  thousand  contradictory  reports  and 
rumors  were  flying  about. 

At  8  o'clock  I  called  on  Captain  Matthews,  and  told  him  my 
earnest  desire  to  get  on  towards  Johnstcm's  army  at  all  risks.  He 
kindly  introduced  me  to  the  conductor  of  a  locomotive,  who  offered 
to  take  me  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Jackson,  if  he  was  not  cut  off 
by  the  enemy,  which  seemed  extremely  probable.  At  9  a.  m.  I 
seated  myself,  in  company  with  about  twenty  soldiers,  on  the  en- 
gine, and  we  started  towards  Jackson. 

On  reaching  Crystal  Springs,  half-way  to  Jackson,  we  found 
Gen.  Loring's  division  crossing  the  railroad  and  marching  east.   It 


55. 

had  been  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  most  of  its  artillery,  three  days 
before,  and  was  now  cut  off  from  General  Pemberton. 

At  5  P.  M.  tbe  conductor  stopped  the  engine,  and  put  us  out  at  a 
spot  distant  nine  miles  from  Jackson  ;  and  as  I  could  procure  no 
shelter,  food,  or  conveyance  there,  1  found  myself  in  a  terrible  fix. 

At  this  juncture  a  French  boy  rode  up  on  horseback,  and  volun- 
teered to  carry  my  saddle-bags  as  far  as  Jackson,  if  I  could  walk 
and  carry  the  remainder. 

Gladly  accepting  this  unexpected  offer,  I  started  with  him  to 
walk  up  the  railroad,  as  he  assured  me  the  Yankees  really  had 
gone  ;  and  during  the  journey,  he  gave  me  a  description  of  their 
conduct  during  the  short  time  they  had  occupied  the  city. 

On  arriving  within  three  miles  of  Jackson,  1  found  the  railroad 
destroyed  by  the  enemy,  who  after  pulling  up  the  track,  had  made 
piles  of  the  sleepers,  and  then  put  the  rails  in  layers  on  the  top 
of  these  heaps;  they  had  then  set  fire  to  the  sleepers,  which  had 
caused  the  rails  to  bend  when  red  hot ;  the  wooden  bridges  had 
also  been  set  on  fire,  and  were  still  smoking. 

When  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Jackson,  I  met  four  men, 
who  stopped  ond  questioned  me  very  suspiciously,  but  they  at 
length  allowed  me  to  proceed,  saying  that  these  "were  curious 
times." 

After  another  mile  I  reached  a  mild  trench,  which  was  dignified 
by  the  name  of  the  fortifications  of  Jackson.  A  small  fight  had 
taken  place  there  four  days  previous,  when  General  Johnston  had 
evacuated  the  city. 

When  I  got  inside  this  trench  I  came  to  the  spot  on  which  a 
large  body  of  Yankees  had  recently  been  encamped;  they  had 
set  fire  to  a  great  quantity  of  stores  and  arms,  which  they  had 
been  unable  to  carry  away  with  them,  and  which  were  still  burn- 
ing, and  were  partially  destroyed.  I  observed  also  great  numbers 
of  pikes  and  pikeheads  amongst  the  debris. 

At  the  entrance  to  the  town  the  French  boy  took  me  to  the 
house  of  his  relatives,  and  handed  me  my  saddlebags.  These 
French  people  told  me  they  had  been  much  ill-treated,  notwithstand- 
ing their  French  nationality.  They  showed  me  their  broken  furni- 
ture, and  they  assured  me  that  they  had  been  robbed  of  every 
thing  of  any  value.  I  then  shouldered  my  saddlebags,  and 
walked  through  the  smoking  and  desolate  streets  towards  the 
Bowman  House  hotel. 

I  had  not  proceeded  far  before  a  man  with  long  gray  hair  and 
an  enormous  revolver  rode  up  to  me,  and  offered  to  carry  my 
saddlebags.  He  then  asked  me  who  I  was ;  and  after  I  told  him, 
he  thought  a  few  moments,  and  then  said,  "Well,  sir,  you  must 
excuse  me,  but  if  you  are  a  British  officer,  I  can't  make  out  what 


56 

on  earth  you  are  doing  at  .Tackson  j'if>t  now."  I  could  not  but 
confess  that  this  was  rather  a  natural  idea,  and  that  my  presence 
in  this  burning  town  must  have  seemed  rather  odd,  more  e  peci- 
ally  as  I  was  oldiged  to  acknowh^dge  that  I  was  there  entirely  of 
my  own  free  will,  and  fur  my  own  amusement. 

^Ir.  bmythe,  for  so  this  individual  was  named,  then  told  me,  that 
if  I  was  really  the  person  I  re|trcsented  myself,  I  should  he  well 
treated  hy  all ;  hut  that  if  I  could  not  prove  myself  to  he  an  Eng- 
lish officer,  an  event  would  happen  wiiich  it  was  not  dftficuU  to 
foresee,  and  the  idea  caused  a  disagreeable  sensation  about  the 
^  throkt. 

Mr.  Smythe  then  gave  me  to  understand  that  I  must  remain  a 
prisoner  fur  the  present.  He  conducted  me  to  a  rooni  in  the  Bow- 
man House,  and  I  fnund  myself  si)eedily  surrounded  by  a  group 
of  eager  and  excited  citizens,  who  had  been  summoned  by  Smythe 
to  cond^ict  my  examination. 

At  first  they  were  inclined  to  he  disagreeable.  They  examined 
my  clothes,  and  argued  as  to  whether  they  were  of  English  man- 
ufacture. Some,  who  had  been  in  London,  asked  me  questions 
aliout  the  streets  of  the  metropolis,  and  about  my  regiment. — 
One  remarked  that  I  was  "  irtighhj  yoauir  for  a  lootenant  colonel'* 

When  I  suggested  thattheyshould  treat  me  with  proper  respect 
until  I  was  proved  to  be  a  spy,  they  replied  that  their  city  had 
been  brutally  pillaged  by  the  Yankees,  aud  that  there  were  many 
suspicious  characters  about. 

Every  thing  now  looked  very  threatening,  and  it  became  evident 
to  me  that  nothing  would  relieve  rht>  minds  of  these  men  so 
much  as  a  hanging  match.  I  looked  in  vain  for  some  one  to 
take  my  part,  aud  1  could  not  even  get  any  person  to  examiue  my 
papers. 

At  this  critical  juncture  a  new  character  appeared  on  the  scene 
in  the  shape  of  a  big  heavy  man  who  said  to  me,  "My  name  is 
Dr.  Russell,  I'm  an  Irishman,  and  I  hate  the  British  Govern- 
ment and  the  English  nation;  but  if  you  are  really  an  ofT;cer  in 
the  Coldstream  Guard.^  there  is  nothing  I  won't  do  for  you;  yoti 
shall  come  to  my  house  aud  I  will  protect  you." 

I  immediately  showed  Dr.  Russell  my  passport  and  letters  of 
introduction  to  General  Johnston  and  other  Confederate  officers; 
he  pronounced  them  genuine,  promised  to  stand  by  me,  and  wanted 
to  take  me  away  with  him  at  once. 

But  observing  that  the  countenances  of  Smythe  and  his  col- 
leagues did  not  by  any  means  express  satisfaction  at  this  arrange- 
ment, i  announced  my  determination  to  stay  where  I  was  until  I 
was  released  by  the  uiilitary  authorities,  with  whom  I  demanded 
an  immediate  audience. 


57 

A  very  hanrlsoTne  cavalry  t)fficer  called  Captain  Terger,  shortly 
:a'fterwards  arrived,  who  released  me  at  once — asked  n1e  to  his  mo- 
ther's house.and  promised  that  I  should  join  a  brigade  which  was 
to  march  for  General  Johnston's  camp  on  the  following  morning. 

All  the  citizens  seemed  to  be  satisfied  by  the  result  of  my  in- 
terview, with  Captain  Yerger,  and  most  of  them  insisted  on  shak- 
ing hands  and  "liijuoring  up,"  in  horrible  whisky.  'Smythe,  how- 
ever was  an  exception  to  this  rule.  He  evidently  thought  he  had 
effected  a  grand  capture,  and  was  not  at  all  satisfied  at  the  turn  of 
affairs.  I  believe  to  his  dying  day  he  \\\\\  think  I  am  a  spy  ;.but 
it  was  explained  to  me  that 'his  house  had  been  burnt  down  by  the 
Yankees  two  days  before,  which  had  made  him  unusually  veno- 
mous. 

They  told  me  that  Dr.  Russell  had  saved  his  property  from  pil- 
lagein  the  following  manner :  He  had  seated  himself  in  his  veran- 
da, with  a  loaded  double-barrelled  gun  on  his  knees,  and  when  the 
pillagers  approached,  'he  addressed  them  in  the  following  manner  : 
''No  man  can  ^lie  moretlian  once,  and  1  shall  never  be  more  ready 
to  die  than  I  a»n  now;  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  your  going  into 
this  house,  except  that  1  shall  kill  the  first  two  of  you  who  move 
with  this  gun.  Now  then,  gentlemen,  wa'k  in."  This  speech  is 
said  to  have  saved  Dr.  Russell  from  further  annoyance,  and  his 
property  from  the  ruin  w'hicih  overtook  his  neighbors. 

Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Mississip|)i,  is  a  place  of 
great  importance.  Four  railroads  meet  here,  and  have  been  de- 
stroyed in  each  direction  for  a  distance  of  from  three  to  five  miles. 
All  the  numerous  factories  have  been  burnt  down  by  the  enemy, 
who  were  of  course  justified  in  doing  so ;  but  daring  the  short 
space  of  thirty-six  hours,  in  which  General  Grant  occupied  the 
<;ity,  his  troops  had  wantonly  pillaged  nearly  all  the  private  houses. 
Thev  had  gutted  all  the  stores,  and  destroyed  what  they  could  not 
carry  away.  All  this  must  have  been  done  under  the  very  eyes 
of  General  Grant,  whose  name  was  in  the  book  of  the  Bowman 
House. 

I  saw  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church,  the  priest's 
house,  and  the  principal  hotel,  which  were  still  smoking,  together 
with  many  other  buiuiings  which  could  in  no  way  be  identified 
with  the  Confederate  Government.  The  whole  town  was  a  miser- 
able wreck,  and  presented  a  deplorable  aspect. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  intense  hatred  and  fury  with  which  its 
exciied  citizens  speak  of  the  outrages  they  have  undergone — of 
their  desire  for  a  bloody  revenge,  and  of  their  hope  that  the  Black 
Flag  might  be  raised.* 

I  bad  previously  heard  the  Jacksonians  spoken  of  as  not  being 

*  Since  this  dnte,  the  unfortunate  city  of  Jackson  has  been  again  sub- 
jected to  pillage  by  the  Federals  after  the  capture  of  Vicksburg. 


58 

particularly  zealous  in  the  \^'ar.     Heaven  knows  General  Grant 
Lad  now  converted  them  into  good  and  earnest  rebels. 

At^  p.  M,  T  (>Hed  at  Caj)tain  .Yerger's  house,  and  found  him 
\9itl1  GeneriVftlts^  and  another  officer  lying  flat  on  1  heir  stomachs 
poring  over  a  map.  Captain  Yerger  then  introduced  me  to  the 
ladies  of  his  family,  wiio  were  extremely  pretty,  very  amiahle,  and 
highly  patri(jtic.  The  house  is  charming,  and,  being  uuiside  the 
town,  it  had  by  good  luck. escaped  destruction  and  piliage.  After 
supper,  the  ladies  played  and  sang,  and  1  ended  an  eventful  day 
in  a  very  agreeable  manner.  General  Gist  promised  that  1  should 
accom|)any  his  brigade  to-morrow  on  its  march  towards  General 
Johnston,  and  Mrs.  Yerger  insisted  that  I  should  pass  the  night 
at  her  house. 

In  this  part  of  the  country  the  prospects  of  the  Confederacy 
appeared  to  be  very  gloomy.  General  Joseph  Juhnston,  who  com- 
mands the  whole  Western  Department,  only  arrived  from  Tennes- 
see last  Wednesday,  and  on  the  following  day  he  found  himself 
obliged  to  abandon  Jackson  to  an  overwhelming  Northern  army, 
after  making  a  short  fight  to  enable  his  baggage  to  escape. 

General  Pemberton,  who  had  hitherto  held  the  chief  command, 
is  ai)used  by  all.  He  was  beaten  oh  Saturday  at  Baker's  Creek, 
■where  he  lost  the  greater  part  of  his  artillery.  He  had  retired 
into  Vicksburg,  aud  was  now  completely  shut  up  there  by  the  vic- 
torious Grant. 

•  General  Maxey's  brigade,  about  five  thousand  strong,  was  near 
Bruokhaven,  and  was  marching  east  when  1  was  there.  General 
Loring's  force,  cut  off  from  Pemberton,  was  near  Crystal  Springs. 
General  Johnston,  with  about  six  thuutsand  men,  W'as  supposed  to 
be  near  Canton.  General  Gist's  troops,  about  five  thousand  five 
hundred  strong,  were  close  by,  having  arrived  from  South  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia,  just  too  late  to  defend  Jackson. 

The  enemy  under  General  Grant,  in  vastly  superior  force,  was 
pressing  Vicksburg  very  hard,  and  had  now  completely  invested 
that  fortress. 

The  great  object  of  the  Confederates  must,  of  course,  be  to 
unite  their  scattered  forces  under  so  able  a  general  as  Johnston, 
and  then  relieve  Vicksburg. 

19/A  May,  Tuesday. — The  landlord  of  the  Bowman  House 
gave  a  breakfast  at  7  a.  m.  to  General  Gist  and  Staff,  to  which  I 
also  was  invited. 

Shortly  afterwards  T  was  given  a  seat  in  a  curious  little  vehicle 
belonging  to  Lieutenant  Martino,  a  Spaniard, '  in  the  Confederate 
army.  I'his  vehicle  caused  considerable  merriment  amongst  the 
soldiers,  who  called  it  a  chicken  wagon. . 


59 

We  left  Jackson  with  the  leading  troops  about  8  A:  M.,  amidst 
a  great  waving  of  handkercliiefs  and  showers  of  flowers,  thrown, 
by  the  few  remaining  ladies  who  were  still  left  in  that  dilapidated 
phice. 

The  corps  under  General  Gist  consisted  of  three  weak  brigades, 
the  leading  one  composed  of  Georgians  and  South  Carolinians; 
the  next  were  Texans,  under  General  Ector;  and  the  last  were 
Arkansians,  under  General  ^IcNair.  General  Gist  bad  twelve 
good  looking  Napoleon  guns  with  him  (12-pounilers.)  The  horses 
were  iine  animals,  and  were  in  wonderful  good  conditton,  consid 
ering  that  they  had  been  ten  days  on  the  railroad  coming  from 
South  Carolina. 

The  troops  were  roughly  but  efBciently  clothed  ;  their  boots 
were  in  good  order,  and  all  were  armed  with  Enfield  rifli^s. 

The  weather  was  very  hot,  and  we  were  halted  to  bivouac  for 
the  night,  at  a  spot  about  seventeen  miles  from  Jackson,  on  the' 
road  towards  Vickshurg. 

The  straggling  of  the  Georgians  was  on  the  grandest  scale  con- 
ceivable; the  men  fell  out  by  dozens,  and  seemed  to  suit  their  own 
convenience  in  that  respect,  without  interference  on  the  part' of 
the  officers.  But  I  was  told  that  these  regiments  had  never  done 
any  marching  before,  having  hitherto  been  quartered  in  forts  and 
transported  by  railroad. 

The  cjuntry  is  much  covered  with  woods,  and  is  sandy  with 
very  little  water. 

I  did  not  consider  that  the  troops  were  marched  judiciously  ; 
they  were  halted  too  long  at  a  time,  and  not  often  enough.  The 
baggage  was  carried  on  country  carts  pressed  into  the  service. 

We  bivouacked  in  the  woods  near  a  very  pretty  house,  belong- 
ing to  a  planter  called  Colonel  Robinson.  These  immense  woods 
make  admirable  bivouacs. 

General  State  Rights  Gist  is  a  South  Carolinian,  only  thirty- 
two  years  of  age,  and  although  not  educated  as  a  soldier,  he  seems 
easily  to  have  adapted  himself  to  the  military  profession.  He 
looks  a  determtned  man,  and  he  takes  responsibility  very  coolly. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  day  he  was  very  doubtful  as  to  the  exact 
whereabouts  of  General  Johnston;  but  about  noon  a  courier  ar- 
rived, from  whom  he  received  important  and  satisfactory  informa- 
tion, otherwise  General  Gist  had  made  up  his  mind  for  some 
*' nasty  work"  before  the  junction  could  be  effected.  He  told  me 
that  the  present  exi»edition  was  rather  inconvenient  to  him,  as  he 
had  only  been  married  three  daiys  before  he  left  Charleston.  He 
lent  me  a  magnificent  rug,  and  I  slept  very  comfortably  in  the 
open  air  for  the  first  time  since  I  was  in  Texas. 

20t?i  May,  Wednesday. — At  3  a.  m.  we  were  awoke  by  a  great 


60 

bomhardnient  going  on  at  Vicksburg,  which  lasted  about  three 
hours.* 

The  assembly  was  beaten  at  7  a.  m.  by  an  old  nieger,  perform- 
ing on  a  cracked  drum,  and  its  sound  was  hailed  hy  the  soldiers 
with  loud  yells. 

General  Gist,  his  Sfaff,  and  T,  breakfasted  with  Mr.  Robinson, 
whose  house  is  cluirtning.  and  beautifully  furnished,  an.l  had  not 
been  visited  by  the  Yankees. 

TVe  had  a  crazy  old  planter,  named ,  with  us,  who  insisted 

upon  accouipanyiiij;  the  citlumn,  nioiinted  on  a  :i  iserable  animal 
which  had  been  left  him  by  the  enemy  as  not  being  worth  carry- 
ing away.  The  small  remains  of  this  poor  old  man's  sense  had 
been  shattered  by  the  Yankees  a  few  days  ago  ;  they  cleaned  him 
completely  out,  taking  his  horses,  mules,  cows,  and  pigs,  and  steal- 
ing his  clothes  and  any  thirig  they  wanted,  destroying  what  they 
could  not  carry  away.  But  what  "riled"  him  most  was  that  he  had 
been  visited  by  a   Federal  officer,  disguised  in   the    Confederate 

uniform.     Poor  old  ,  full  of  rebel  zeal,  had,  on  beinjjf  invited 

to  do  so,  mounted  en  croupe  behind  this  officer,  and  unhosouied 
himself  to  him;,  his  fury  and  rage  may  be  imagined  at  finding  him- 
self shortly  afterwards  in  the  very  midst  of  the  Federal  camp  ; 
but  the  Yankee  General  M'Pherson  ordered  him  to  be  released; 
and  it  appears  that  the  reason  of' his  being  kidnapped,  was  to  ex- 
tract froM)  him  a  large  quantity  of  gold,  which  he  was  supposed 
to  have  hidden  somewhere. 

This  Mr.  (or  Majort) took  a  great  fancy  to  me,  and  in- 
sisted on  pit-king  some  of  the  silk  of  Indian  corn,  which  he  re- 
^ueste<l  I  would  present  to  Queen  Victoria  to  show  her  how  far 
advanced  the  crops  were  in  Mississippi.  It  was  almost  painful  to 
hear  the  manner  in  which  this  poor  old  man  gloated  over  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  Yankees  at  Jackson,  and  of  his  intense  desire  to 
see  more  of  them  put  to  death. 

The  column  reached  the  village  or  town  of  Livingston  at  11  a. 
M.,  where  I  was  introduced  to  a  militia  general  and  his  pretty 
daughter;  the  latter  had  been  married  two  days,  before  to  a 
wounded  Confederate  officer,  but  the  happy  couple  were  just  on 
the  point  of  starting  for  the  Yazoo  river,  as  they  were  afraid  of 
being  disturbed  in  their  felicity  by  the  Yankees. 

I  now  heard  every  one  speaking  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  as  very- 
possible,  and  its  jeopardy  was  laid  at  door  of  General  Pemberton, 
for  whom  no  language  could  be  too  strong.    He  was  freely  called 


*  I  afterwards  learnt  that  this  bombardment  preceded  one  of  the  unsuc- 

<ce8sful  ab«ciult8. 

t  Nearly  every  man  in  this  part  of  the  couutry  has  a  military  title. 


61 

a  coward  and  a  traitor.    He  has  the  misfortuTie  to  be  a  Northerner 
by  birth,  which  was  against  him  in  the  opinion  of  all  here; 

General  Gist  and  I  cantered  on  in  front  of  the  column,  and 
reached  General  Johnston's  bivouac  at  6  p.  m. 

General  Johnston  received  me  with  much  kindness,  when  T  pre- 
sented my  letters  of  introduction,  and  stated  my  object  in  visiting 
the  Confederate  armies. 

In  appearance,  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  commonly  called 
Joe  Johnston,  is  rattier  below  liie  middle  hei^^ht,  spare,  soldierlike, 
and  well  set  up ;  his  features  are  goo'd,  and  he  has  lately  taken 
to  wear  a  grayir^h  beard.  He  is  a  V'irginian  by  l)irlh,  and  appears  to 
be  about  iifty-seven  years  old.  He  talks  in  a  calm,  deli!)erate,  and 
confident  manner ;  to  me  he  was  extremely  affable,  but.  he  cer- 
tainly possesses  the  power  of  keeping  people  at  a  distance  when  he 
chooses  and  his  officers  evidently  stand  in  great,  awe  of  hiui.  He 
lives  very  plainly,  and  at  present  liisoiiiy  cooking-utensils  censist- 
ed  of  an  old  cotfee-pot  and  frying-pan — both  very  inferior  artk-les. 
There  was  only  one  Jork,  one  prong  deficient,  between  binif-elf 
and  Stafl",  and  this  was  handed  to  me  ceremoniously  as  the 
''  guest." 

He  has  undoubtedly  acquired  the  entire  confidence  of  all  the 
officers  and  soldiers  under  hiui.  Many  of  the  officers  told  me  thcv 
did  not  consider  him  inferior  as  a  general  to  Lee  or  any  oYie  else. 

He  told  me  that  Vicksburg  was  cerfainiy  in  a  critical  situation, 
and  was  now  closely  invested  by  Grant.  He  said  that  he  (John- 
ston) had  11,000  men  with  him,  which  includes  Gist's,  hardly  any 
cavalry,  and  only  sixteen  pieces  of  cannon  ;  but  if  he  could  get 
adequate  reinforcements,  he  stated  hisintentiou  of  endeavoring  to 
relieve  Vicksburg. 

I  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Georgian  General  Walker, 
a  fierce  and  very  warlike  fire-eater,  who  was  furi(tus  at  having 
lug  been  obliged  to  evacuate  Jackson  after  having  only  destroyed 
four  hundred  Yankees.  He  told  me,  "  1  know  i  could'nt  hold  the 
place,  but  1  did  want  to  kill  a  few  more  of  the  rascals.'' 

At  9  p.  M.  I  returned  with  General  Gist  to  his  camp,  as  my 
baggage  was  there.  On  the  road  we  were  met  by  several  natives, 
who  complained  that  soldiers  were  quartering  themselves  upon 
them  and  eating  every  thing., 

The  bivouacs  are  extremiely  pretty  at  night,  the  dense  woods 
being  lit  up  by  innumerable  camp-fires. 

21.5^  May,  Thursday. — I  rejoined  General  Johnston  at  9  a.  m., 
and  was  received  into  his  mess.  Miijor 'Eustis  and  Lieutenant 
Washington,  officers  of  his  Stafi",  are  thorough  gentlemen,  a^d  did 
all  in  their  power  to  make  me  comfortable.  The  first  is  a  Lousian- 
ian  of  wealth,  formerly  ;   his  negro  always  speaks  Erench.    He  is 


62 

brother  to  the  secretary  of  ■^^r.  Slidell  in  Paris,  and  has  learnt  to  be- 
come an  excellent  SiafT  otlRfer. 

I  was  presented  to  Captain  Henderson,  who  commanded  a  corps 
of  about  fifly  "  scouts."  These  are  em|ih)yed  on -the  hazard<ms 
dnfy  of  hanjiin^  ahout  the  enemy's  camps,  collecting  information, 
and  cnmmnnicaiing  with  IVmherton  in  Vicksburg.  They  are  a 
fine  lool<ing  lot  of  men,  wi  d,  and  very  picturesque  in  appearance. 

At  12  noon  a  Yankee  military  snrtreon  came  to  camp.  He 
had  lieen  left  Iv-hind  by  Grant  to  look  after  the  Yankees  woimded 
at  Jackson,  and  he  was  now  anxious  to  rejoin  his  jreneral  by  flag 
of  truce,  but  General  Johnston  very  prudently  refused  1o  allow 
this,  and  desired  that  he  shoi.ld  be  sent  to  the  North  via  Tiich- 
mond.  By  a  very  sensihle  arran«rement,  both  sides  liave  ajrreed 
to  treat  doctors  as  non-combatants,  and  not  lo  make  prisoners  of 
w.'ir  of  them. 

Th<^  chief  snrcreon  in  Johnston's  nrmy  is  a  very  clever  and  amu- 
sing J^^entuckian,  named  Dr.  Yandeil.  He  told  me  he  had  been 
educated  in  England,  and  might  have  had  a  large  practice  there. 

]My  friend  "  IM'ajor" very  kindly  took  me  to  dine  with  a 

ncis£lil)oring  planter  named  Harrold,  at  whose  house  I  met  Gene- 
ral Gregg,  a-Texan,  who,  with  his  brigade  fought  the  Yankees 
at  Raymond  a  few  days  ngo. 

After  dinner,  T  asked  ]\Ir.  Harrold  to  take  me  over  the  quarters 
of  his  slaves,  which  hedidimmediately.  The  hnts  were  comfortable 
and  very  clean  ;  the  negroes  seemed  fond  of  their  master,  but  he 
told  rne  they  were  SMflfering  dreadfully  from  the  effects  of  the  war 
— he  ha<l  so  much  difficulty  in  providing  them  with  clothes  and 
shoes.  I  saw  an  old  woman  in  one  of  the  huts,  who  had  been 
sufferiog  from  an  incurable  disease  for  thirteen  years,  and  was  ut- 
.terly  useless.  She  was  evidently  well  cared  for,  and  was  treated 
with  affection  and  care.  At  all  events,  she  must  have  benefited 
largely  by  the  "  peculiar  institution." 

I  have  often  told  these  planters  that  I  thought  the  word  *'  slave" 
was  the  n)ost  repulsive  part  of  the  institution,  and  I  have  always 
observed  they  iuvari;ibly  shirk  using  it  themselves.  They  speak 
of  their  servant,  their  boy.  or  their  negroes,  butneverof  their  slaves. 
They  addri'ss  a  negro  as  boy  or  girl,  or  uncle  or  aunty. 

In  the  evening  I  asked  General  Johnston  what  prospect  he 
thought  there  was  of  early  operations,  and  he  told  me  that  at  pres- 
ent he  was  too  weak  to  do  any  good,  and  he  was  unable  to  give 
me  any  definite  idea  as  to  when  he  might  be  strong  enough  to 
attack  Grant.  I  therefore  marie  U|)  my  mind  to  be  off  in  a  day 
or  two,  unless  something  turned  up,  as  I  could  not  afford  to  wait 
for  events.  I  have  still  so  much  to  see.  General  Johnston  is  a 
grery  well-read  man,  ^nd  agreeable  to  converse  with.    He  told  me 


63 

that  be  considered  Marlborough  a  greater  general  than  Wellington. 
All  Americans  have  an  intense  admiration  for  Napoleon;  they 
seldom  scruple  to  express  tbeir.regret  that  be  was  beaten  at  Wa- 
terloo. 

Remarking  upon  the  extreme  prevalence  of  military  titles.  Gen- 
eral Johnston  said,  "  You  must  be  astonished  to  find  how  fond  all 
Americans  are  of  titles,  though  they  are  republicans  ;  and  as  they 
can't  get  any  other  sort,  they  all  take  military  ones." 

Whilst  seated  round  the  camp  fire  in  the  evening,  one  of  the 
officers  remarked  to  me,  "  I  can  assure  you.  colonel,  thnt  nine  men 
out  of  ten  in  the  South  would  sooner  become  subjects  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria than  return  to  Ihe,  Union."  ''Nine  men  out  often!"  said  Gen- 
eral Johnton — "  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  ;  I  consider  that  few 
people  in  the  world  can  be  more  fortunate  in  their  government 
than  the  British  colonies  of  North  America."  But  the  effect  of 
these  compliments  was  rather  spoilt  when  some  one  else  said  they 
would  prefer  to  serve  under  the  Emperor  of  the  French  or  the 
Emperor  of  Japan  to  returning  to  the  dominion  of  Uiacle  Abe; 
and  it  was  still  more  damaged  when  another  officer  alluded  in  an 
imdertone  to  the  inferjial  regions  as  a  more  agreeable  alternative 
than  reunion  with  the  Yankees. 

22d  May,  Friday. — The  bombardnaent  at  Vicksburg  was  very 
heavy  and  continuous  this  niorning. 

I  had  a  long  conversation  with  General  Johnston,  who  told 
me  Ihat  the  principal  evils  which  a  Confederate  general  had  to 
contend  against  consisted  in  the  difficulty  of  making  combinatiims, 
owing  to  uncertainty  about  the  time  which  the  troo})s  would  take 
to  march  a  certain  distance,  on  account  of  their  straggling  pro- 
pensities. 

But  from  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  as  yet,  it  appears  to  me 
that  the  Confederates  possess  certain  great  qualities  as  soldiers, 
such  as  individual  bravery  arid  natural  aptitude  in  the  use  of 
firearms,  strong  determined  patriotism,  and  boundless  confidence 
in  their  favorite  generals,  and  in  themselves.  They  are  sober  of 
necessity,  as  there  is  literally  no  liquor  to  be  got.  They  have  suf- 
ficient good  sense  to  know  that  a  certain  amount  of  discipline  is 
absolutely  necessary;  and  I  believe  that  instances  of  insubordina- 
tion are  extremely  rare.  They  possess  the  great  advantage  of  being 
led  by  men  of  talent  and  education  as  soldiers  who  thoronghly 
understand  the  people  they  have  to  lead,  as  well  as  those  they 
have  to  beat.  These  generals,  such  as  Lee,  Johnston,  Beaure- 
gard, or  Longstreet,  they  would  follow  any  where,  and  obey  impli- 
citly. But,  on  the  other  hand,  many  of  their  officers,  looking  for- 
ward to  future  political  advancement,  owing  to  their  present  milita- 
ry rank,  will  not  punish  their  men,  or  are  afraid  of  making  them- 
selves obnoxious  by  enforcing  rigid  discipline.     The  men  ai-e  con- 


G4  ^ 

stantly  in  the  habit  of  throwing  away  their  knapisacks  and  blan- 
kets on  a  lung  march,  if  noi  carried  for  tlieni,  and  i hough  actuated. 
by  the  strongest  and  purest  patriotism,  can  often  not  be  got  to  con- 
sider tjieir  oidigations  as  soldiers.  In  the  early  parr  of  the  war 
they  were  often,  wlien  victorious,  nearly  as  dis(»rganiz<^d  as  the 
beaten,  and  many  would  coolly  walk  off  home,  under  the  inipres- 
sion  that  they  had  performed  their  share.  But  they  are  becoming 
better  in  these  respects  as  the  war  goes  on.*  All  this  woiiid  ac- 
count for  the  trifling  benetits  derived  by  the  Confederates  from 
their  numerous  victories. 

General  Johnston  told  me  that  Grant  had  displayed  more  vigor 
than  he  liad  expected,  by  crossing  the  river  below  Vicksburg,  seiz- 
ing Jackson  by  vastly  siiperier  force,  and,  after  cutting  off  com-' 
niiinieations,  investing  the  fortress  thoroughly,  so  as  to  take  it  if 
))('ssible  before  a  sulficient  force  could  be  got  to  relieve  it.  His 
army  is  estimated  at  75,000  men,  and  General  Johnstm  has  very 
little  oi)iiiion  of  the  defences  of  Vicksburg  on  the  land  side.  He 
said  the  garrison  consisted  of  about  20.000  men. 

News  has  been  received  that  the  Yankees  were  geltiig  up  the 
Yazo\»  river;  and  this  morning  General  Walker's  division  left  at 
6  A.  M.  for  Yazoo  city. 

The  General  with  his  staff  and  myself  rode  into  Canton,  six 
miles,  and  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  planter  who  owned  700  slaves. 

Pr.  Yandell  is  a  wonderful  mimic,  and  amused  us  much  by  ta- 
king ofl*  the  marriage  cereujony,  as  performed  by  General  Tolk  in 
Tennessee — General  i\lorgan  of  Kentucky  notoriety  being  the 
bridegroom,  t 

One  of  Henderson's  scouts  caused  much  hilarity  amongst  the 
General's  Slatf  this  afternoon.  He  had  brought  in  a  Yankee  pris- 
soner,  and  apologized  to  General  Johnston  for  doing  so,  yaving, 
*'  I  found  hnu  in  a  negro  qtuirter,  and  he  surrendered  so  qiikk,  I 
could'nt  hill  him.'"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  conducf  of 
the  Federals  in  cai)tured  cities  tends  to  create  a  strong  indisposi- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Confederate's  to  take  prisoners,  particularly 
amongst  these  wild  Mississippians. 

General  Johnston  told  me  this  evening  that  altogether  he  had 
been  wounded  ten  times.  He  was  the  senior  officer  of  the  old  ar- 
my who  joinejJ  the  Confederates,  and  he  commanded  the  Virginian 

*  After  havmg  lived  with  the  veterims  of  Bnigg  and  L^e,  I  was  able  to 
form  a  still  higher  e8tiiii;it«'  of  Conft'derHte  K<»kliers.  Their  nbedience  and 
furl^eitraiice  ill  guccess,  their  discipliiie  iiiider  disaster,  their  p:itieiife  uiid^i* 
sufieriiig,  under  hnrdsliips,  or  when  wounded,  and  their  bouiidle«s  devotiua 
to  their  country  under  all  circuinstttnces,  are  beyond  all  praise. 

t  When  I  was  introduced  to  General  Polk  in  Tennessee,  I  recognized  him 
xutouce  by  Dr.  Yaudeil's  iimtatiuu,  which  was  most  wonderfully  accurate. 


•  65 

army  until  he  was  severely  wounded  at   the  battle  of  "  Seven 
Pines."* 

23d  May,  Saturday.— General  Johnston,  Major  Eustis  and  my- 
self left  Canton  at  6  a.  iM.  on  a  locomotive  for  Jackson. 

On  the  way  we  talked  a  good  deal  al>out  "  Stonewall"  Jackson. 
General  Johnston  said  that  although  this  extraordinary  man  did 
not  possess  any  great  qnalifiiaiions  as  a  strategist,  and  was  per- 
haps unfit  fur  the  independent  command  of  a  large  army  ;  yet  he 
was  gifted  with  wonderful  courage  and  deterniination,  and  a  per- 
fect faith  in  Providence  that  he  was  destined  to  destroy  his  enemy. 
He  was  niuch  indebted  to  General  Ewell  in  the  Valley  campaigns. 
Stonewall  Jackson  was  also  most  fortunate  in  commanding  the 
flower  of  the  Virginian  troops,  and  in  being  opposed  to  the  most 
inca))able  Federal  commanders,  such  as  Fremont  and  Banks. 

Before  we  had  proceeded  twelve  miles  we  were  forced  to  stop 
and  collect  wood  from  the  roadside  to  feed  our  engine,  and  the 
General  worked  with  so  much  energy  as  to  cause  his  "Seven 
Pines"  wound  to  give  him  pain. 

We  were  put  out  at  a  spot  where  the  railroad  was  destroyed,  at 
about  four  miles  from  Jackson.  A  carriage  ought  to  have  been 
in  waiting  for  us,  but  by  some  mistake  it  had  not  arrived,  so  we 
had  to  foot  it.  I  was  obliged  to  carry  my  heavy  saddlebags.  Ma- 
jor Eustis  very  kindly  tot)k  my  knajisack,  and  the  General  carried 
the  cloaks.  In  this  order  we  reached  Jackson,  much  exhausted, 
at  9.30  A.  M. 

General  Loring  came  and  reported  himself  soon  after.  He  is  a 
stout  man  with  one  arm.  His  division  had  arrived  at  Jackson 
from  Chrystal  Springs  about  six  thousand  strong ;  Evans's  bri- 
gade, about  three  thousand,  had  also  arrived  from  Charleston: 
and  Maxey's  brigade  was  in  the  act  of  marv.*hing  into  Jack- 
son. I  calculate,  therefore,  that  General  Johnston  must  now  have 
nearly  twenty -five  thousand  men  between  Jackson  and  the  Yazoo. 

I  took  an  affectionate  farewell  of  him  and  his  officers,  and  he  re- 
turned to  Canton  at  3.  p.  m.  I  shall  be  much  surprised  if  he  is 
not  heard  of  before  long.  That  portion  of  his  troops  which  I  saw^ 
though  they  had  been  beaten  and  forced  to  retreat,  were  in  excel- 
lent spirits,  full  of  confidence,  and  clangoring  to  be  led  against 
only  double  their  numbers. 

I  renewed  my  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Russell,- for  whose  timely 
protection  I  shall  always  feel  myself  mmch  indebted.  I  also  sent 
my  love  to  Smythe  by  several  different  people. 

At  3.30  p.  M.  I  left  Jackson  is,  a  Government  ambulance,  in 
company  with  Capt.  Brown  of  Ge-neral  Johnston's  staff,  who  was 

*  Called  "Fair  QaJis"  by  the  Yankees. 

5 


66 

extremely  useful  to  me.  I  had  taken  the  precaution  of  furnishing 
myself  with  a  pass  from  Colonel  Kwell,  the  adjutant  general, 
which  I  afterwards  di>x'overed  was  absolutely  necessary,  as  I  was 
asked  for  it  continually,  and  on  the  railroad  every  person's  pass- 
port was  rigidly  examined. 

We  drove  to  the  nearest  point  at  which  the  railroad  was  in 
working  order,  a  distance  of  nearly  five  miles. 

We  then  got  into  the  cars  at  6  p.  m.  for  Meridian.  This  piece 
of  railroed  was  in  a  most  dangerous  state,  and  enjoys  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  the  very  worst  of  all  the  bad  railroads  in  the  South. 
It  was  completely  worn  out,  and  could  not  be  repaired.  Aecidents 
are  of  almost  daily  occurrence,  and  a  nasty  one  had  happened  the 
day  befQre. 

After  we  had  proceeded  five  miles,  our  engine  ran  off  the  track, 
which  caused  a  stoppage  of  three  hours.  All  male  passengers 
bad  to  get  out  to  push  along  the  cars. 

2Uh  May,  Sunday. — We  reached  Meridian  at  7.30  a.  m.  with 
sound  limbs,  and  only  five  hours  late. 

We  left  for  Mobile  at  9  a.  m.,  and  arrived  there  at  7.15  p.  m. 
This  part  of  the  line  was  in  very  good  order. 

We  were  delayed  a  short  time,  owing  to  a  ''difficulty''  which 
had  occurred  in  the  up-train.  The  ditficulty  was  this.  The  engi- 
neer had  shot  a  passenger,  and  then  unhitched  his  engine,  cut  the 
telegraph,  and  bolted  up  the  line,  leaving  his  train  })huited  on  a 
single  track.  He  had  allowed  our  train  to  ]iass  by  sliunting  him- 
self, until  we  had  done  so  without  any  suspicion.  The  news  of 
this  occurrence  caused  really  hardly  any  excit  nient  amongst  my 
fellow  travelers  ;  but  I  heard  one  man  remark,  that  "  it  was  mighty 
mean  to  leave  a  train  to  be  run  into  like  tljat."  We  avoided  this 
catastrophe  by  singular  good  fortune. 

I  cut  this  out  of  a  Mobile  paper  two  days  after  : — 

"Attempt  to  Com.mit  Mirdfr. — We  learn  that  while  the  up- 
train  on  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Kailrord  was  near  Beaver  Meadow, 
one  of  the  employees,  named  Thomas  Fitzgerald,  went  into  one  of 
the  passenger  cars  and  shot  Lieutenant  II.  A.  Knowles  with  a  ]>is- 
tol,  the  ball  entering  his  left  shoulder,  going  out  at  the  back  of  his 
neck,  making  a  very  dangerous  wound.  Fitzgerald  then  uncou- 
pled the  locomotive  from  the  train  and  started  off.  When  a  few 
miles  above  Beaver  Meadow  he  stopped  and  cut  the  lele;.'raph 
wires,  and  then  proceeded  up  the  road.  When  near  Lauderdale 
station  became  in  collision  willi  the  down  train,  smashing  the  en- 
gine, and  doing  considerable  damage  to  several  of  the  cars.*  It 
is  thought  he  ihere  took  to  the  woods ;  at  any  rate  he  has  made 
good  his  escape  so  far,  as  nothing  of  him  has  y.-t  been  heard.    The 

"  This  10  a  mistake. 


67 

sbooting,  as  we  are  informed,  was  that  of  revenge.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  a  few  months  ago  Knowles  and  a  brother  of  Tbos. 
Fitzgerald,  named  Jack,  had  a  rencM)unter  at  Enterprise  about  a 
lady,  and  during  which  Knowles  killed  Jack  Fitzgerald;  a'terwards 
it  is  stated  that  Thomas  threatened  to  revenge  the  death  of  his 
brother;  so  on  Sunday  morning  Knowles  was  on  the  train,  as 
stated,  going  up  to  Enterprise  to  stand  his  trial.  Thomas  learn- 
ing that  he  was  on  the  train,  hunted  him  up  and  shot  him.— 
Knowles,  we  learn,  is  now  lying  in  a  very  critical  condition." 

The  universal  practi  e  of  carrying  arms  in  the  South  is  un- 
doubtedly the  cause  of  occasional  loss  of  life,  and  is  much  to  be 
regretted  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  this  custom  renders  altercations 
and  quarrels  of  very  rare  occurrence,  for  people  are  naturally 
careful  what  they  say  when  a  bullet  may  be  the  probable  reply. 

By  the  intercession  of  Captain  Brown,  I  was  allowed  to  travel 
in  the  ladies'  car.  .It  was  cleaner  anil  more  convenient,  barring 
the  squalling  of  the  numerous  children,  who  were  terrified  into 
good  behavior  by  threats  from  their  negro  nurses  of  being  given 
to  the  Yankees. 

I  put  r.p  at  the  principal  hotel  at  ^fobile,  viz  :  the  Battle  House. 
The  living  appeared  to  be  very  good  by  comparison,  and  cost  $8  a 
day.  In  consequence  of  the  fabulous  value  of  boots,  they  must 
not  be  left  outside  the  door  of  one's  room,  from  danger  of  annexa- 
tion l>y  a  needy  and  unscrupulous  warrior. 

ibtli  Mai/,  Monday. — I  was  disappointed  in  the  aspect  of  Mo- 
bile. It  is  a  regular  rectangular  American  city,  built  on  a  sandy 
flat,  and  covering  a  deal  of  ground  for  its  population,  which  is 
about  twenty-five  thousand. 

I  called  on  General  Maury,  for  whom  I  brought  a  letter  of  in- 
trodjiction  from  General"  Johnston.  He  is  a  very  gentlemanlike 
and  intelligent  but  diminutive  Virginian,  and  had  only  just  as- 
sumed the  command  of  Mobile. 

He  was  very  civil,  and  took  me  in  a  steamer  to  see  the  sea  de- 
fences. We  were  accompanied  by  General  Ledbetter,  the  engi- 
neer, and  we  were  six  hours  visiting  the  forts. 

Mobile  is  -situated  at  the  head  of  a  bay,  thirty  miles  long.  The 
blockading  squadron,  eight  or  ten  in  number,  is  stationed  outside 
the  bay,  the  entrance  to  which  is  defended  by  Forts  Morgan  and 
Gaines ;  but  as  the  channel  between  these  two  forts  is  a  mile 
wide,  they  might  probably  be  passed. 

Within  two  miles  of  the  city,  however,  the  bay  becomes  very 
shaUow,  and  the  ship  channel  is  both  dangerous  and  tortuous.  It 
is,  moreover,  obstructed  by  double  rows  of  pine  piles,  and  all  sorts 
of  ingenious  torpedoes,  besides  beirjg  cominanded  by  carefully 


68 

constructed  forts,  armed  with  heavy  guns,  and  built  either  on 
islands  or  on  piles. 

Their  names  are  Fort  Pinto,  Fort  Spanish  River,  Apalache,  and 
Blakeley  * 

The  prarrisons  of  these  forts  complained  of  their  being  unheal- 
thy, and  I  did  not  doubt  the  assertion.  Before  landing,  we  boarded 
two  iron  clad  floating  batteries.  The  Confederate  fleet  at  Mobile 
is  considerable,  and  reflects  great  credit  upon  the  en«-rgy  of  the 
Mobilians,  as  it  has  been  constructed  since  the  commenceineni  of 
the  war.  During  the  trip,  I  overheard  General  Maury  solilnqiy- 
zingover  a  Yankee  flag,  and  saying,  '.'  Well,  I  never  should  have 
believed  that  I  could  have  lived  to  see  the  day  in  which  I  s|3ould 
detest  that  old  flag."  He  is  cousin  to  Lieutenant  Maury,  wfff)  has 
distinguished  himself  so  much  by  his  writings,  on  physical  geo- 
graphy especially.  The  family  seems  to  be  a  very  military  one. 
His  brother  is  captain  of  the  Confederate  steamer  Georgia. 

After  landing,  I  partook  of  a  hasty  dinner  with  General  Maury 
and  Major  Cummins.  I  was  then  mounted  on  the  General's  horse, 
and  was  sent  to  gallop  round  the  land  defences  with  Brigadier 
General  Slaughter  and  his  staff".  By  great  good  fortune  this  was 
the  evening  of  General  Slaughter's  weekly  inspection,  and  all  the 
redoubts  were  manned  by  their  respective  garrisons,  consisting 
half  of  soldiers  and  half  of  armed  citizens  who  had  been  ex- 
empted from  the  conscription  either  by  their  age  or  nationality,  or 
had  purchased  substitutes.  One  of  the  forts  was  defended  by  a 
burly  British  guard,  commanded  by  a  venerable  (^apt.  Wheeler,  f^ 

•After  visiting  the  fortifications,  I  had  supper  at  General  Slaugh- 
ter's house,  and  met  there  some  of  the  refugees  from  New  Orleans 
— these  are  now  being  huddled  neck  and  crop  out  of  that  city  for 
refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States.  Great 
numbers  of  women  and  children  are  arriying  at  Mobile  every  day  ; 
they  are  in  a  destitute  condition,  and  they  add  to  the  universal 
feeling  of  exasperation.  The  propriety  of  raising  the  black*flag, 
and  giving  no  quarter,  was  again  freely  discussed  at  General 
Slaughter's,  and  was  evidently  the  popular  idea.  I  heard  many 
anecdotes  of  the  late  "  Stonewall  Jackson,"  who  was  General 
Slaughter's  comrade  in  the  artillery  of  the  old  army.  It  appears 
that  previous  to  the  war  he  was  almost  a  monomaniac  about  his 
health.  When  he  left  the  United  States  service  he  was  Under  the 
impression  that  one  of  his  legs  was  getting  shorter  than  the  other; 
ami  afterwards  his  idea  was  that  he  only  perspired  on  one  side,  and 
that  it  was  necessary  to  keep  the  arm  and  leg  of  the  other  side  in 
constant  motion  in  order  to  preserve  the  circulation;  but  it  seems 


*  A  description  of  either  its  sea  or  land  defences  is  necessarily  omitted, 
t  Its  memberg  were  British  subjects  exeiffpted  from  the  conscription,  but 
th»j  had  voluntaered  W  %ht  in  .defence  of  the  city. 


69 

that  immediately  the  war  broke  out  he  never  made  any  further 
allusion  to  his  health.  G-neral  Slaughter  declared  that  on  the 
night  after  the  terrific  repulse  of  Burnside's  army  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Stonewall  Jackson  had  made  the  following  suggestion  :  "  I 
am  of  opinion  that  we  ought  to  attack  the  enemy  at  once;  and  in 
order  to  avoid  tiie  confusion  and  mistakes  so  common  in  a  night  at- 
tack, T  recommend  that  we  should  all  strip  ourselves  perfectly  na- 
ked."'* Blockade  running  goes  on  very  regularly  at  Mobile ;  the 
steamers  nearly  always  succeed,  but  the  schooners  are  generally 
captured.  To-morrow  I  shall  start  for  the  Tennesseean  army, 
commanded  by  General  Braxton  Bragg. 

26th  May,  Tuesday. — When  I  took  Colonel  EwelVs  pass  to  the 
Provost  Marshal's  office  this  morning  to  be  countersigned,  that 
official  hesitated  about  stamping  it,  l)ut  luckily  a  man  in  his  office 
came  to  my  rescue,  and  volunteered  to  say  that,  although  he  didn't 
know  me  himse!f,  he  had  heard  me  spoken  of  by  others  as  "  a  very 
respectable  gentleman."  I  was  only  just  in  time  to  cat<^h  the  12 
o'clock  steamer  for  the  Montgomery  Railroad.  I  overheard  two 
negroes  on  board  discussing  affaii-s  in  general ;  they  were  deplor- 
ing the  war,  and  expressing  their  hatred  of  the  Yankees  for  bring- 
ing "  sufferjuent  on  us  as  well  as  our  masters  "  Both  of  them 
had  evidently  a  great  aversion  to  being  "  run  off,"  as  they  called 
it.  One  of  them  w6re  his  master's  sword,  of  which  he  was  very 
proud,  and  he  strutted  about  in  a  most  amusing  and  consequential 
manner. 

T  got  into  the  railroad  cars  at  2  30  p.  m.  ;  the  pace  was  not  at  all 
bad,  had  we  not  stopped  so  often  and  for  such  along  time  for  wood 
and  water.  I  sat  opposite  to  a  wounded  soldier,  who  told  me  he 
was  an  Englishman  from  Chelsea.  He  said  he  was  returning  to 
his  regiment,  although  his  wound  in  the  neck  often  gave  him  great 
pain.  The  spirit  with  which  wounded  men  return  to  the  front, 
even  allhough  their  wounds  are  imperfectly  healed,  is  worthy  of 
all  praise,  and  shows  the  indomitable  determination  of  the  South- 
ern people.  In  the  same  car  there  were  several  quite  young  boys 
of  fifteen  or  sixteen  who  were  badly  wounded,  and  one  or  two  were 
minus  arms  and  legs,  of  which  deficiencies  they  were  evidently  very 
vain. 

The  country  through  which  we  passed  was  a  dense  pine  forest, 
sandy  soil,  and  quite  desolate,  very  uninviting  to  an  invading  army. 
We  traveled  all  night. 

27fh  May,  Wednesday. — Arrived  at  Montgomery,  the  capital  of 
Alabama,  at  daylight,  and  left  it  by  another  railroad  at  5.30  a.  m. 

All  State  capitals  appear  to  resemble  one  another,  and  look  like 
bits   out  off  from  great  cities.    One  or  two  streets  have  a  good 

*  I  always  forgot  to  a^k  General  Lee  whether  this  story  wai  a  true  on«. 


70 

deal  of  pretension  about  them  ;  and  the  inevitable  "Capitol,"  with 
its  dome,  forms  the  principal  feature.  A  sentry  stands  at  the 
door  of  each  railway  car,  wlio  examines  the  papers  ot  every  pas- 
senger with  great  strictness,  and  even  after  that  iuspeciton  the  same 
ceremony  is  performed  by  an  ofHcer  of  the  I^rovost  Maishars  de- 
partment, who  attcompanies  every  traili.*  The  officers  and  sol- 
diers on  this  duty  are  very  civil  and  courteous,  and  ^lier  getting 
over  their  astonishment  at  linding  that  I  am  a  British  otTiccr,  they 
do  all  they  can  to  make  me  conitortaMc.  'I'hey  ask  all  sorts  of 
curious  questions  about  the  British  army,  and  often  express  a 
strong  wish  to  see  o??e  of  our  rcgimcnis  fiirht.  They  can  hardly 
believe  that  tjie  Coldstream  is  really  dressed  in  scarlet.  To-day  . 
they  entered  gravely  into  discussion  among  themselves,  as  to 
■whether  British  troops  would  have  taken  the  position  at  Freder- 
icksburg. The  arguments  on  both  sides  were  very  aumsing,  and 
opinion  was  pretty  evenly  divided.  We  met  three  trains  crammed  , 
full  of  soldiers  for  Johnston's  army.  They  belonged  to  Breckin- 
ridge's division  of  Bragg's  army,  and  all  seemed  in  the  highest 
spirits,  cheering  and  yelling  like  demons.  In  the  cars  to-day  I 
fell  in  with  the  Federal  doctor  who  was  refused  leave  to  pass 
through  General  Johnston's  lines;  he  was  ni»w  en  route  for  Rich- 
mond. He  was  in  full  Yankee  uniform,  but  was  treated  with  civil- 
ity by  all  the  Confederate  soldiers,  1  had  a  long  talk  with  him; 
he  seemed  a  sensible  man,  and  did  not  attempt  to  deny  the  univer- 
sal enthusiasm  and  determination  of  the  Southerners.  lie  t(dd 
Tiie  that  General  Grant  had  been  very  nearly  killed  at  the  taking 
of  Jackson.  He  thought  the  war  would  probably  terminate  by  a 
blow-up  in  the  North.!  ^ 

1  had  to  change  cars  at  West  Point  and  at  Atlanta.  At  the  latter 
place  I  was  crammed  into  a  desperately  crowded  train  for  Chatta- 
nooga. This  country,  Georgia,  is  much  more  inhabited  and  culti- 
vated than  Alabania.     1  traveled  again  all  night. 

28^^  May,  Thursday. — I  arrived  at  Chattanooga,  Tennessee,- 
at  4.30  A.  M.,  and  fell  in  with  Captain  Brown  again  ;  his  negro  re- 
cognized me,  and  immediately  rushed  up  to  shake  hands. 

After  breakfasting  at  C  attanooga,  1  started  again  at  7.30,  by 
train,  for  Shelbyville,  General  Bragg's  headquarter^.  This  train 
•was  crammed  to  repletion  with  soldiers  rejoining  their  regiments, 
so  1  was  constrained  to  sit  in  the  aisle  on  the  floor  of  one  of  the 
cars.  I  thought  myself  lucky  even  then,  for  so  great  was  the 
Dund^cr  of  military,  that  all  ''citizens"  were  ordered  out  to  make 

*  'J'his  rigid  inspection  is  necessary  to  arrest  spies  and  prevent  straggling 
an<i  absence  without  leave. 

t  Notwithstanding  the  exasperation  with  which  every  Southerner  speaks 
of  a  Yankee,  and  all  the  talk  ab(»utthe  black  fliig  and  no  quarter,  yet  I  never 
saw  a  Federal  prisoner  ill  treated  or  insulted  id  any  way,  although  I  have 
traveled  hundreds  of  miles  iu  their  company. 


71 

way  for  the  soldiers ;  but  my  gray-shooting  jacket  and  youthful 
appearance  saved  me  from  the  imputation  of  being  a  "  citizen.'* 
Two  hours  later  the  passport  officer,  seeing  who  I  was,  procured 
me  a  similar  situation  in  the  ladies'  car,  where  I  was  a  little 
better  off.  After  leaving  Chattanooga  the  railroad  winds  ajong- 
side  of  the  Tennessee  river,  the  banks  of  which  are  high,  and 
beautifully  covered  with  trees — the  river  itself  is  wide,  an'd  very 
pretty;  but  from  my  position  in  the  tobacco  juice  I  was  unable  to 
do  justice  ro  the  scenery.  I  saw  stockades  at  intervals  all  along 
the  railroad,  which  were  constructed  by  the  Federals,  who  occu- 
pied all  this  country  last  year. 

On  arriving  at  Wartrace  at  4  p.  m.,  I  determined  to  remain 
there,  and  ask  for  hospitality  from  General  Hardee,  as  I  saw  no 
prospect  of  reaching  Shelby ville  in  decent  ~  time.  Leaving  my 
baggage  with  the  Provost  ^larshal  at  Wartrace,  I  walked  on  to 
General  Hardee's  headquarters,  which  were  distant  about  two 
miles  from  the  railroad.  They  were  situated  in  a  beautiful  coun- 
try, green,  undulating,  full  of  magnificent  trees,  principally  beeches, 
and  the  scenery  was  by  far  the  finest  I  had  seen  in  America  asyet. 

When  I  arrived,  I  found  that  General  Hardee  was  in  company 
with  General  Polk  and  Bishop  Elliott  of  Georgia,  and  also  with 
Mr.  Vallandigham.  The  latter  (called  the  Apostle  of  Liberty)  is 
a  good  looking  man,  apparently  not  much  over  forty,  and  had  been 
turned  out  of  the  North  three  days  before.  Rosecrans  had  wished 
to  hand  him  over  to  Bragg  by  flag  of  truce;  but  as  the  latter  de- 
clined to  receive  him  in  that  manner,  he  was,  as  General  Hardee 
e  pressed  it,  '' dumped  down"  in  the  neutral  ground  between  \\\q 
lines  and  left  there.  He  then  received  hospitality*  from  the  Con- 
federates in  the  capacity  of  a  destitute  stranger.  They  do  not  in 
any  way  receive  him  officially,  and  it  does  not  suit  the  policy  of 
either  party  to  be  identified  with  one  another.  He  is  now  living 
at  a  private  house  in  Shelbyville,  and  had  come  over  for  the  day 
with  General  Polk,  on  a  visit  to  Hardee.  He  told  the  generals, 
that  if  Grant  was  severely  beaten  in  Mississippi  by  Johnston,  he 
did  not  think  the  war  could  be  continued  on  its  present  great  scale. 

When  I  presented  my  letters  of  introduction,  General  Hardee 
received  me  with  the  unvarying  kindness  and  hospitality  which  I 
had  experienced  from  all  other  Confederate  officers.  He  is  a  fine, 
soldierlike  man,  brjad  shouldered  and  tall.  He  looks  rather  like 
a  French  officer,  and  is  a  Georgian  by  birth.  He  bears  the  repu- 
tation of  being  a  thoroughly  good  soldier,  and  he  is  the  author  of 
the  drill  book  still  in  use  by  both  armies.  Until  quite  lately,  he 
was  commanding  officer  of  the  military  college  at  West  Point. 
He  distinguished  himself  at  the  battles  of  Corinth  and  Murfrees- 
boro',  and  now  commands  the  2d  corps  d'armee  of  Bragg's  army. 
He  is  a  widower,  and  has  the  character  of  being  a  great  admirer  of 


72    • 

the  fair  sex.  During  the  Kentucky  campaign  last  year,  he  was  in 
tlie  habit  of  availing  himself  of  the  privih^ge  of  his  rank  anil  years, 
and  insisted  upon  kissing  the  wives  and  daughters  of  all  the  Ken- 
tuckian  farmers.  And  although  he  is  suj)p()scd  to  have  converted 
many  of  theladies  to  the  Southeru  cause,  yet  in  many  instances  their 
male  relatives  remained  either  neutral  or  undecided.  On  one  occa- 
sion Gen.  Hardee  liad  conferred  the  "accolade'  upon  a  very  |>retty 
Kentuckian,  to  their  mutual  satisfaction,  when  to  his  intense  dis- 
gnst,  the  proprietor  j)roduced  two  very  uirly  old  females,  saying, 
now  theii,  General,  if  you  kiss  any  you  must  kiss  them  all  round," 
which  the  discomfited  general  was  forced  to  do,  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  his  officers,  who  often  allude  to  this  contretemps. 

Another  rebuff  which  he  received,  and  about  whidh  he  is  oft^en 
chafed  by  General  Polk,  was  when  an  old  lady  told  him  he  ought 
really  to  "leave  off  fighting  at  his  age."  "  Indeed,  madam,"  re- 
plied Hardee,  "and  how  okl  do  you  take  me  for?  "  "  Why,  al>out 
the  same  age  as  myself — seventy-five."  The  chagrin  of  the  stal- 
wart and  gallant  general,  at  having  twenty  years  added  to  his 
age,  may  be  imagined. 

Lieutenant  General  Leonidas  Polk,  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  who 
commands  the  other  corps  d'armcc,  is  a  good-looking,  gentleman- 
like man,  with  all  the  manners  and  atTability  of  a  "  grand  seig- 
neur. He  is  fifty-seven  years  of  age — tall,  upright,  and  looks 
much  more  the  soldier  than  the  clergyman.  He  is  very  rich  ;  and 
I  am  told  he  owns  seven  hundred  negroes.  He  is  much  l)eloved 
by  the  soldiers  on  account  of  his  great  ])ersonal  courage  an"d  agree- 
able manners.  1  had  already  heard  no  end  of  anecdotes  of  him 
t(dd  me  by  my  traveling-companions,  who  always  alluded  to  him 
with  affection  and  admiration.  In  his  clerical  capacity  I  had  al- 
ways heard  him  spoken  of  with  the  greatest  respect.  When  1  was 
introduced  to  him  he  immediately  invited  me  to  come  and  stay  at 
his  headquarters  at  She.byville.  He  told  me  that  he  was  educated 
at  West  Point,  and  was  at  that  institution  with  the  President,  the 
two  Johnstons,  Lee,  Magruder,  &c.,  and  that,  after  serving  a  short 
time  in  the  artillei;y,  he  had  entered  the  church. 

Bishop  Elliott,  of  Georgia,  is  a  nice  old  man  of  venerable  ap- 
pearance and  very  courteous  manners.  He  is  here  at  the  request 
of  General  Polk,  for  the  purpose  of  confirming  sojne  officers  and 
soldiers.  He  speaks  English  exactly  like  an  English  gentleman, 
and  so,  in  fact,  does  General  Pulk,  and  all  the  well-bred  South- 
erners, much  more  so  than  the  ladies,  whose  American  accent  can 
always  be  detected.  General  Polk  and  Mr.  Vallandigham  re- 
turned to  Shelbyville  in  an  ambulance  at  6.30  p.  m. 

General  Hardee's  headquarters  were  on  the  estate  of  Mrs. , 

a  very  hospitable  lady.  The  two  daughters  of  the  General  were 
staying  with  her,  and  also  a  Mrs.  ,  who  is  a  very  pretty  wo- 


73 

man.  These  ladies  are  more  violent,  against  the  Yankees  than  it  is 
possible  fur  a  European  to  conceive;  they  beat  their  male  relations 
hollow  in  their  denunciations  and  ho)»es  of  vengeance.  It  wa?* 
quite  depressing  to  hear  their  innumerable  stories  of  Yankee  bru- 
tality, and  I  was  much  relieved  when,  at  a  later  period  of  the  even- 
ing they  subsided  into  music.  After  Bishop  Elliott  had  read 
prayers,  I  slep  in  the  same  room  with  General  Hardee. 

2^tk  May.  Eriilay. — I  took  a  walk  before  breakfast  with  Dr. 
Quintard.  a  zealous  Episcopal  cluij  lain,  who  began  life  as  a  sur- 
geon, which  enables  him  to  attend  to  the  bodily  as  well  as  the 
spiritual  wants  of  \he  Tennesseean  regiment  to  which  he  is  chap- 
lain. The  enemy  is  about  tifteen  miles  distant,  and  all  the  tops 
of  the  intervening  hills  are  occupied  as  signal  jstations,  which  com- 
municate his  movements  by  flags  in  the  day  time,  and  by  beacons 
at  night.  A  signal  corps  has  been  organized  for  this  service.  The 
system  is  most  ingenious,  and  answers  admirably.  We  all  break- 
fasted   at  Mrs. ,s.     The  ladies  were   more  excited  even  than 

yesterday  in  their  diatribes  against  the  Yankees.  They  insisted 
on  cutting  the  accompanying  paragra|)h  out  of  to-day's  newspaper, 
which  they  declared  was  a  very  fair  exposition  of  the  average 
treatment  they  received  from  the  enemy.*     "^J'hey  reproved  Mr?. 

*  Losses  of  William  F.  Kicks —The  YiOjkees  did  not  trefit  us  very 
badly  ;i8  tliey  returned  tVdiu  pursuing  nur  men  beyond  Lriyliton,  (at  le«8t  no 
more  than  we  expected :)  they  broke  down  our  smokc-hou^e  door  and  t<iok 
seven  hams,  went  iuto  the  kitchen  and  helped  tliemselves  t<»  cooking  utensils, 
tin  ware,  &c. ;  searched  the  house,  but  took  nothing.  As  they  passed  iip  the 
second  time  we  were  very  much  annoyed  by  them,  but  not  seriously  injured  ; 
they  took  the  only  two  mules  we  had,  a  cart,  our  milch  cows,  and  more  meat. 
It  was  on  their  return  from  this  trip  that  our  losses  were  so  grievous.  They 
drove  their  wagons  up  in  oui  yard  and  loaded  them  with  the  last  of  our  meat, 
all  <tf  our  sugar,  cofiee,  molasses,  flour,  meal  and  potatoes.  I  went  to  a  lieu- 
tenant colonel  who  seemed  very  busy  giving  orders,  and  asked  him  what  he 
expected  me  t<»do;  they  had  left  me  no  provisions  at  all,  and  I  had  a  large 
family,  and  niy  husband  was  away  from  heme.  His  reply  was  short  and 
pointed.  'Starve  and  be  d—d,  madam."  They  then  proceeded  to  the  car- 
riage h(»use,  took  a  fine  new  buggy  that  we  had  never  used,  the  cushions  ar.d 
harness  of  our  carriage,  then  cut  the  carriage  up  and  left  it.  They  then  sent 
about  sixty  of  the  slyest,  smoothest-firigered  rogues  I  have  ever  seen  in  the 
Federal  army  (all  the  rogues  I  ever  did  sre  were  in  that  arniy,)  into  the  house 
to  searcli  for  whiskey  and  mt.ney,  while  the  (fficers  rema'ined  in  the  back 
yard  trying  to  hire  the  servants  to  tell  them  w  here  we  had  money  hid.  Their 
gearch  proving  fruitless,  they  loaded  themselves  with  our  clothing,  bed  cloth- 
ing, &c.  ;  broke  my  dishes  ;  stole  my  krives  and  forks  ;  refused  the  koys  and 
broke  open  my  trunks,  closets  and  other  doors.  Then  came  the  worst  of  all-— 
the  burners,  or,  as  they  call  themselves,  the  'Destroying  Angels.'  They 
burned  our  gin  house  and  press,  with  ]-25  bales  cotton,  seven  cribs  contain- 
ing 600  bolls  of  corn,  <»ur  logs,  stables,  and  six  stacks  of  fodder,  a  wagon  and 
four  negro  cabins,  our  lumber  room,  fine  spinning  machine  and  $500  worth  of 
threiid.  axes,  hoes,  scythe  blades,  and  all  other  plantation  imp  ements.  Then 
they  came  with  their  torches  to  burn  our  house,  the  hist  remaining  building 
they  had  left  besides  the  negro  quarter.  That  was  too  much  ;  all  my  pride, 
and  the  resolutions  that  I  had  made  (a;id  until  now  kept  up)  to  treat  them 


74 

for  having  given  assistance  to  the  wounded  Yankees  at  War- 
trace  lasT  year;  and  a  sister  of  ^Irs.' 's,  who  is  a  very  strong- 
minded  lady,  gave  nie  a  most  amusing  description  of  an  interview 
she  had  had  at  Iliintsville  wiih  the  astronomer  Mitchell,  in  his 
capacity  of  a  Yankee  General.  It  has  often  been  remarked  to  me 
that,  wlien  this  war  is  over,  the  independence  of  the  country  will 
be  due,  in  a  great  measure,  to  thvj  women  ;  for  they  declare  that 
had  the  women  been  desponding  they  could  never  have  gone 
through  with  it;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  women  have  inva:iably 
set  an  examjile  to  the  men  of  patience,  devotion,  and  determina- 
tion. Naturally  proud,  and  with  an  innate  contempt  for  the  Yan- 
kees, the  Southern  women  have  been  rendered  furious  and  des- 
perate by  the  [)roceedings  of  Butler,  i\Iilroy,  'I'urchin,  &c.  They 
are  all  prepared  to  undergo  any  hardships  and  misfortues  rather 
than  submit  to  the  rule  of  such  people;  and  they  use  every  argu-- 
nient  which  women  can  employ  to  infuse  the  same  spirit  into 
their  male  relations. 

At  noon  I  took  leave  for  the  present  of  General  Hardee,  arrd 
drove  over  in  his  ambulance  to  8helbyville,  eight  miles,  in  com- 
pany with  Bishop  Elliott  and  Dr.  Quint^rd.  Ihe  road  was  abom- 
inable, and  it  \vas  pouring  with  rain.  On  arriving  at  General 
Polk's  he  invited  me  to  take  up  my  quarlers  with  him  during  my 
stay  with  Bi-agg's  army,  which  oifer  1  accepted  with  gratitude. 
Alter  dinner  General  Polk  told  me  that  he  hoped  his  brethren  in 
England  did  not  very  much  condemn  his  present  line  of  conduct. 
He  explained  to  me  the  reasons  which  had  induced  him  tempora- 
rily to  forsake  the  cossack  and  return  to  his  old  profession.  Ue 
stated  the  extreme  reluctance  he  had  felt  in  taking  this  step;  and 
he  said  that  so  soon  as  the  war  was  over,  he  should  return  to  his 
episcojjal  avocations,  in  the  same  way  as  a  man,  finding  his  house 
on   tire,  would  use  every   means   in   his  power  to  extinguish  the 

witli  citol  cdiiteiiipt,  and  never,  let  tlie  vvoibt  ccinie,  bumble  niyseif  to  the 
thievisli  cut-liirttuts,  fors(M»k  me  at  the  awful  ibduglit  of  my  home  in  ruins; ; 
I  must  do  mmeliiing  cUid  that  quickly  ;  hardened,  thievinji;  villains,  as  I  knew 
them  to  be,  I  would  make  one  ett'ort  tor  the  sake  of  my  home.  1  looked  over 
the  crowd,  as  they  huddled  tegether  to  give  orders  *tbout  the  burning,  for 
one  face  that  6hov^(•d  a  trace  of  feeling,  <tr  an  eye  that  beamed  with  a  spark 
of  humanity,  but,  liuding  none,  I  pproaehed  the  nearest  group,  and  |)ointing 
to  the  children,  (my  sisti-r's,)  I  said,  'You  will  not  burn  the  house,  v\  ill  you? 
you  drove  those  little  ones  from  one  home  juid  took  possession  of  it,  and  this 
is  the  only  sheltering  place  tlu-y  have.'  '  You  may  thank  your  G»»d,  madam,'  " 
said  one  tif  the  luftiuifs,  '  tlwit  we  have  left  you  and  your  d — d  bruts  with' 
be^ids  to  be  sheltei't'd.'  Just  then  an  f.fficer  galloped  up — pretended  to  be 
■very  much  astonished  and  terribly  beset  about  the  conduct  of  his  men — 
cursed  a  good  deal,  and  t(dd  a  batch  of  fnlsehoods  about  not  having  given 
orders  to  burn  any  thing  but  corn — made  divers  threats  that  were  forgotten 
in  utteranoe,  and  ordered  his  Angels'  to  fall  into  line — thereby  winding  up 
the  troubles  <  f  the  darkest  day  I  have  ever  seen.  Mhs.  EiCKS.    ,^ 

"Losses  before  this  last  raid:  six  mules,  five  horses,  one  wagon  (four- 
horse)  lifty-two  negroes." 


75 

flames,  and  would  Ihen  resume  his  ordinary  pursuits.  He  com- 
manded  the  Confederate  forces  at  the  battles  of  Perry ville  and  Bel- 
mont, as  well  as  his  j)resent  roiys  d'armee  at  the  battles  of  Shiloh 
(Corinth)  and  Miirfreetsboro'. 

At  6.30  P.  M.,  I  called  on  General  Bra^g,  the  Commander-in- 
Chief.  This  officer  is  in  appearance  the  least  preiiossessin^r  of  the 
Confederate  Generals.  He  is  very  thin;  he  stoops,  and  has  a 
sickly,  cadaverous,  haggard  api)earance.  rather  {lain  features, 
bushy  black  eyebrows  which  unite  in  a  tuft  on  the  to|)  of  his  nose, 
and  a  stubby  iron  gray  beard  ;  but  his  eyes  are  bright  and  jiierc- 
ing.  lie  bus  the  reputation  of  being  a  rigid  disci|>liuariau,  and  of 
shooting  freely  for  insubordination.  I  understand  he  is  rather  un- 
popular on  this  account,  and  also  by  reason  of  his  occasional  acer- 
Itity  of  manner.  He  was  extremely  civil  to  me,  and  gave  me  per- 
mission to  visit  the  outposts,  or  any  part  of  his  army.  He  a. so 
promised  to  help  me  towards  joining  IMorgan  in  Kentucky,  and 
he  expressed  his  regret  that  a  boil  on  his  hand  would  prevent  him 
from  accompanying  me  to  the  outposts.  He  told  me  that  Rose- 
crans'  position  extended  about  forty  miles,  Miirfreesboro'  (twenty- 
five  miles  distant)  being  his  headquarters.  The  Confederate  cav- 
alry inclosed  him  in  a  semi-circle  extending  over  a  hundred  miles 
of  country.  He  told  me  that  West  Tennessee,  occupied  by  the 
Federals  was  devoted  to  the  Confederate  cause,  while  East  Ten- 
nessee, now  in  possession  of  the  Confederates,  contained  numbers 
of  people  of  Unionist  proclivities.  This  very  place,  Shelbyville, 
had  been  described  to  me  by  others  as  a  "Union    bole." 

After  my  interview  with  General  Bragg,  I  took  a  ride  along 
the  Murfreesboro'  road  with  Colonel  Riehmond,  A.  D  C.  to  Gen- 
eral Polk.  About  two  miles  from  Shelbyville,  we  passed  some 
lines  made  to  defend  the  position.  The  trench  itself  was  a  very 
mild  affair,  but  the  higher  ground  could  be  occupied  by  artillery 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  road  iajpassaHJe.  The  tiiick 
woods  were  being  cut  down  in  front  of  the  lines  for  a  distance  of 
eight  hundred  yards  to  give  range. 

During  our  ride  1  met  Major  General  Cheatham,  a  stout,  rather 
rough-looking  man,  but  with  the  reputation  of  '*  a  great  tighter." 
H.  is  said  that  he  does  all  the  necessary  swearing  in  the  1st  corps 
d'armee,  which  General  Polk's  clerical  character  incapacitates  him 
from  performing.  Colonel  Richmond  gave  me  the  particulars  of 
General  Van  Dorn's  death,  which  occurred  about  forty  miles  from 
this. '  His  loss  does  not  seen]  to  be  much  regretted,  as  it  appears 
he  was  always  ready  to  neglect  his  military  duties  for  an  assigna- 
tion. In  the  South  it  is  not  considered  necessary  to  put  yourself 
on  an  equality  with  a  man  in  such  a  case  as  Van  Dorn's  by  call- 
ing him  out.  His  life  belongs  to  the  aggrieved  husband,  and 
"  shooting  down"   is  universally  esteemed  ihe  correct  thing,  even 


76 

if  it  takes  place  after  a  lapse  of  time,  as  in  the  affair  between  Gen- 
eral Van  Dorn  and  Dr.  Peters. 

News  arrived  this  eveninjr  of  the  capture  of  Helena  by  the  Con- 
federates, and  of  the  han^nng  of  a  nejrro  re.iriment  with  forty  Yan- 
kee otficers.  P^very  one  expressed  sorrow  for  the  blacks,  but  ap- 
plauded the  destruction  of  their  officers.* 

I  slt^pt  in  General  Polk's  tent,  he  occupying  a  room  in  the  house 
adjiiining.  Befnre  ^oiiig  to  lied.  General  Poll?  told  mean  affecting 
story  of  a  poor  widow  in  hunihle  circumstances,  whose  three  sons 
had  fallen  in  battle,  one  after  the  other,  until  siiehad  only  one  Itft, 
a  boy  of  sixteen.  So  distressing  was  her  case  tiiat  General  Polk 
went  himself  to  comfort  her.  .  She  looked  steadily  at,  him,  and  re- 
plied to  his  condolences  by  the  sentence,  "  As  soon  as  I  can  get  a 
few  things  together,  General,  you  shall  have  Harry,  too,"  The 
tears  came  into  General  Polk's  eyes  as  he  related  this  episode, 
which  he  ended  by  saying,  ''How  can  you  suhdue  such  a  nation 
as  this. 

SOth  Maij,  Saturday. — Tt  rained  hard  all  last  night,  but  Gen- 
eral Polk's  tent  proved  itself  a  good  one.  We  have  prayers  both 
morning  and  evening,  by  Dr.  Quintard,  together  with  singing,  in 
which  General  Polk  joined  wilh  much  zeal.  Colonel  Gale,  who  is 
son-in-law  and  volunteer  aid-de-camp  to  General  Polk,  has  placed 
his  negro  Aaron  and  a  mare  at  my  disposal  during  my  stay. 

General  Polk  explained  to  me,  from  a  plan,  the  battle  of  Mur- 
freesboro'.  He  claimed  that  the  Confederates  bad  only  30,000 
troops,  including  Breckinridge's  division,  which  was  not  engaged 
on  the  first  day.  He  put  the  Confederate  loss  at  10,000  men,  and 
that  of  the  Yankees  at  19,000.  With  regard  to  the  battle  of  Shi- 
loh,t  he  said  that  Beauregard's  order  to  rehire  was  most  unfortu- 
nate, as  the  gunboats  were  doing  no  real  harm,  and  if  they  (the 
Confederates)  had  held  on,  nothing  could  have  saved  the  Federals 
from  capture  or  destruction.  The  misfortune  of  Albert  John- 
ston's' death,  togeth  r  with  the  fact  of  Beauregard's  illness  and 
his  not  being  present  at  that  particular  spot,  were  the  causes  of 
this  battle  not  being  a  more  complete  vie^tory. 

Ever  since  I  landed  in  America,  I  had  heard  of  ihQ  exidoits  of  an 
Englishman  called  Co'.  St.  Leger  Grenfell,  who  is  now  Inspector 
General  of  Cavalry  to  Bragg's  army.  This  afternoon  T  made  his 
acquaintance,  and  I  consider  him  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
characters  I  ever  met.  Although  he  is  a  member  of  a  well  known 
English  family,  he  seems  to  have  devoted  his  whole  life  to  the  ex- 
citing career  of  a  soldier  of  fortune.  He  told  me  that  in  early  life 
he  had  served  three  years  in  a  French  lancer  regiment,  and  had 

*  This  afterwards  turned  out  to  be  untrue. 
+  Hailed  Pittsburg  Landing  and  Corinth. 


77 

risen  from  a  private  to  be  a  sous-lieutenant.  He  afterwards  be- 
came a  sort  of  consular  agent  at  Tangier,  under  old  ^Ir.  Drum- 
mond  Hay.  Having  acquired  a  perfect  knowledge  of  Arabic,  he 
entered  tlie  service  of  Abd-el-Kader,  and  under  that  renowrcd 
chief  he  fought  the  French  for  fouryeai*s  and  a  half.  At  anolher 
time  of  his  life  he  tilted  out  a  yacht,  and- carried  on  a  private  war 
with  the  Riff  pirates.  He  was  Brigade  Major  in  the  Turkish 
contingent  during  the  Crimean  war,  and  had  some  employment  in 
the  Indian  mutiny.  He  has  also  been  engaged  in  war  in  Buenos 
Ayres^ndthe  South  American  rej^ublics.  At  an  early  period  of 
the  present  troubles  he  ran  the  blockade  and  joined  the  Confed-. 
erates.  He  was  adjutant  general  and  right  hand  man  to  the  cel- 
el»rated  John  Morgan  for  eight  months.  Even  in  this  army,  which 
abounds  with  foolhardy  and  desperate  characters,  he  has  acquired 
the  admiration  of  all  ranlvS  by  his  reckless  daring  and  gallantry  in 
the  field.  Both  Generals  Polk  and  Bragg  spoke  to  me  of  him  as 
a  most  excellent  and  useful  officer,  besides  being  a  man  who  never 
lost  an  opportunity  of  trying  to  throw  his  life  away.  He  is  just 
the  sort  of  a  man  to  succeed  in  this  army,  and  among  the  soldiers 
his  fame  for  bravery  has  outweighed  iiis  unpopularity  as  a  rigid 
disciplinarian.  He  is  the  terror  of  all  absentees,  stragglers,  and 
deserters,  and  of  all  commanding  orticers  who  are  unable  to  pro- 
duce for  his  inspection  the  number  of  horses  they  iiave  been  draw- 
ing forage  for.  He  looks  about  forty-five,  but  in  reality  he  is  fifty- 
six.  He  is  rather  tall,  thin,  very  wiery  and  active,  with  a  jovial 
English  expression  of  countenance;  but  his  eyes  have  a  wihb  rov- 
ing look,  which  is  common  amongst  the  Arahs.  When  he  came 
to  me  he  was  dressed  in  an  English  staff  Idue  coat,  and  he  had  a 
red  cavalry  forage  cap,  which  latter,  General  Polk  told  me,  he  al- 
ways wore  in  action,  so  making  himself  more  conspicuous.  He 
talked  to  me  much  ahout  John  Morgan,  whose  marriage  he  had 
tried  to  avert,  and  of  which  he  spoke  with  much  sorrow.  He  de- 
clared that  Morgan  was  enervated  by  matrimony,  and  would  never 
be  the  same  man  as  he  was.  He  said  that  in  one  of  the  celehrated 
telegraph  tappings  in  Kentucky,  AForgan,  the  operator  and  him- 
self, were  seated  for  twelve  hours  on  a  clay  bank  during  a  violent 
storm,  but  the  interest  was  so  intense,  that  the  time  passed  like 
three  hours.* 

General  Polk's  son,  a  young  artillery  lieutenant,  told  me  this 
evening  that  "  Stonewall  Jackson"  was  a  professor  at  the  military 
school  at  Lexington,  in  which  he  was  a  cadet.  "Old  Jack"  was 
considered  a  persevering  »but  rather  dull  master,  and  was  often 
made  the  butt  of  by  cheeky  cadets,  whose  great  ambition  it  was 
to  irritate  him,  but,  however  insolent  they  were,  he  never  took  the 

This  was  the  occasion  when  they  telegraphed  such  a  quantity  of  non- 
sense to  the  Yankee  general,  receiving  valuable  information  in  return,  and 
such  necessary  storeg  by  train  as  Morgan  was  in  need  of 


$ 


78 

sllglitest  notice  of  their  impertinance  at  the  time,  although  he 
always  had  them  punished  for  it  afterwards.  At  the  outbreak  of 
the  war,  he  was  called  upon  by  the  cadets  to  make  a  speech,  and 
these  were  his  w<»rds  :  Soldiers  make  short  speeches  :  be  slow  to 
draw  tha  sword  in  ciril  strife,  but  when  you  draw. it,  throw  away 
th€  scabbards  Y«i!mg  Polk  says  that  the  enthusiasm  created  by 
tliis  spe4.H;h  of  old  Jack  s  was  beyond  description. 

31*^  May,  Sunday. — The  Bishop  of  Georgia  preached  to-day 
to  a  \tr\  large  congregation  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is 
a  most  eloquent  preacher;  and  he  afterwards  confirmed  about 
tweuty  pcojiie — amongst  others,  Colonel  Gale,  (over  forty  years 
old,)  and  young  Pulk.  After  church,  I  called  again  on  General 
Bragg,  wlio  talked  to  me  a  long  time  about  the  battle,of  Mur- 
freeslxtro'  (in  whicli  he  commanded.)  lie  said  Miat  he  retained 
possession  of  the  ground  he  had  won  for  three  davs  and  a  half, 
and  <jnly  retired  on  account  of  the  exhaustion  of  his  troops,  and 
afier  carrying  olf  over  6,000  prisoners,  much  cannon,  and  otiier 
trophies.  He  allowed  that  llosecrans  had  displayed  much  firm 
ness,  and  was  "  the  only  man  in  the  Yankee  army  who  was  not 
badly  beaten.'"  He  showed  me,  on  a  plan,  the  exact,  position  of 
the  two  armies,  and  also  the  field  of  operations  of  the  renowned 
gu.  rillas,  JVforgan  and  Forrest. 

Colonel  Grenfell  called  again,  and  I  arranged  to  visit  the  out- 
posts with  him  on  Tuesday.  He  spoke,  to  me  in  high  terms  of 
Bragg,  ]-*olk,  Hardee  and  Cleburne;  but  he  described  some  of  the 
others  as  "  poliiical"  generals,  and  others  as  good  fighters,  but 
illiterate  and  somewhat  adtiicted  to  liquor.  Ho  deplored  the  ef- 
fects of  politics  upon  military  affairs  as  very  injurious  in  the  Con- 
federate army,  thougli  not  so  bad  as  it  is  in  the  Northern. 

At  2  w  M.  1  traveled  in  the  cars  to  Wartrace,  in  company  with 
General  Bragg  and  the  Bishop  of  Georgia.  We  were  put  into  a 
baggage  car,  and  the  General  and  the  Bishop  were  the  only  persons 
provided  with  seats.  Although  the  distance  from  Shelby vilie  to 
Wartrace  is  only  eight  miles,  we  were  one  hour  and  ten  minutes 
in  eifecting  the //•6'yV/J,  in  such  a  miseral)le  and  dangerous  state 
were  the  rails.  Oir  arriving  at  Wartrace  we  were  entertained  by 
]\laj(U'  General  Cleburne.  This  oflicen  gave  me  his  history.  He 
is  the  son  of  a  doctor  at  or  near  Ballincolig.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  ran  away  from  home,  and  «Milisted  in  her  Majesty's  41st 
regiment  of  foot,  in  which  he  served  three  years  as  i)rivate  and 
"Corporal.  He  then  bought  his  discharge,  and  emigrated  to  Arkan- 
sas, where  he  studied  law,  and,  eschewing  politics,  he  got  a  good 
practice  as  a  lawyer.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  was  elected 
captain  of  his  company,  then  colonel  of  his  regii)ient,  and  has 
since,  liy  his  distinguished  services  in  all  the  Western  campaigns, 
been  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  division  (10,000  men) — the 


79 

h  ighept  military  rank  which  has  been  attained  hy  a  foreigner  in  the 
Confederate  service.  He  told  me  Ihat  he  ascrihed  his  advance- 
ment mainly  to  the  useful  lessons  which  he  had  learnt  in  the  ranks 
of  the  British  army,  and  he  pointed  with  a  laugh  to  his  g^-neral's 
white  facings,  which  he  said  his  41st  experience  enabled  him  to 
keep  cleaner  than  any  other  (\)nfpderate  general*  He  is  now 
thirty-five  years  ofage-;  but,  his  hair  having  turned  gray,  he  looks 
older.  Generals  Bragg  and  Hardee  l)oth  spoke  to  me  of  him  in 
terms  of  the  highest  praise,  and  said  that  he  had  risen  entirely  by 
his  own  personal  merit. 

At  5  p.  M.  I  was  present  at  a  great  open  air  preaching  at  Gen- 
eral Wood's  camp.  Bishop  Elliott  preached  most  admirably  to  a 
congregation  composed  of  nearly  three  thousand  soldiers,  who 
listened  to  him  with  the  most  profound  attention.  Generals 
Bragg,  Polk,  Hardee,  Withers,  Cleburne,  and  endless  brigadiers, 
were  also  present.  It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  respect  paid 
by  all  ranks  of  this  army  to  Bishop  Elliott ;  and  although  most 
of  the  officers  are  E|»is('opalians,  the  majority  of  the  Soldiers  are 
Methodists,  Baptists,  &c.  Bishop  Elliott,  afterwards  exi)lained  to 
me  that  the  reason  most  of  the  people  had  become  dissenters  \\as 
because  there  had  been  no  bishops  in  America  during  the  "Brit- 
ish dominion  ;"  and  all  the  clergy  having  been  apj)ointed  from 
England,  had  almost  without  exception  stuck  by  the  King  in  the 
Revolution,  and  had  had  their  livings  forfeited. 

I  dined  and  slept  at  General  Hardee's,  but  spent  the  evening  at 

Mrs.  's,  where  I  heard  renewed   philippics  directed  by  the 

ladies  against  the  Yankees. 

I  find  that  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  press  is 
gagged  in  the  South,  as  I  constantly  see  the  most  violent  attacks 
upon  the  President — upon  the  different  generals  and  their  mea- 
sures. To-day  I  heard  the  oificers  complaining  bitterly  of  the 
**  Chattanooga  Rebel,"  for  publishing  an  account  of  Breckinridge's 
departure  from  this  ariny  to  reinforce  Johnston  in  Mississippi,  and 
thus  giving  early  intelligence  to  the  enemy. 

1st  June,  Monday. — We  all  went  to  a  review  of  General  Lid- 
dell's  brigade  at  Bellbuckle,  a  distance  of  six  miles.  There  were 
three  carriages  full  of  ladies,  and  I  rode  an  excellent  horse,  the 
gift  of  General  John  Morgan  to  General  Hardee.  /J'he  weather 
and  the  scenery  were  delijihtful.  General  Hardee  asked  me  par- 
ticularlywliether  Mr.  Mason  had  been  kindly  rec<  ived  in  England. 
I  replied  that  I  thought  he  had,  by  private  individuals.  I  have 
often  found  the  Southerners  rather  touchy  on  this  point. 

*  The  41st  regiment  wears  white  facings  ;  so  do  the  Generals  in  the  Con- 
federate army.  M.  de  Polignac  has  recently  been  appointed  a  brigadier;  he 
and  Cleburne  are  the  only  two  generals  amongst  the  Conlederates  who  are 
foreigners. 


80 

General  Lifldell's  bri«racle  was  composerl  of  Arkansas  troops — 
five  very  weak  regiim-nls  which  bad  suffered  severely  in  the  dif- 
ferent battles,  and  they  cannt)t  be  easily  recruited  on  acicount  of  the 
bbjckade  of  tb^  Mississippi.  T.ie  men  were  good-  ized,  healthy, 
and  well  clothed,  but  without  any  attempt  at  uniformity  in  color  or 
cut;  but  nearly  all  were  dressed  either  in  gray  or  brown  coats  and 
felt  hats.  1  was  told  that  even  if  a  regiment  was  clothed  in  pro- 
per uniform  by  the  Government,  it  would  become  parti-colored 
again  in  a  week,  as  the  soldiers  preferred  wearing  the  coarse  h6me- 
spun  jackets  and  trousers  made  by  their  mothers  and  sisters  at 
home.  The  Generals  very  wisely  allow  them  to  please  themselves 
in  this  res])eet,  and  insist  only  upon  their  arms  and  accoutrements 
being  kept  in  pro  tir  order.  Host  of  the  officers  were  dressed  in 
uniform  which  is  neat  and  serviceable,  viz  :  a  bluish  gray  frock 
coat  of  a  coli)r  similar  to  Austrian  yagers.  The  infantry  wear 
blue  facings,  the  artillery  red,  the  doctors  black,  tbe  staff  white, 
and  the  cavalry  yellow;  so  it  is  impossible  to  mistake  the  branch 
of  the  service  to  which  an  officer  belongs — nor  is  it  possible  to 
mistake  liis  rank.  A  second  lieutenant,  first  lieutenant,  and  cap- 
tain, wear  respectively  one,  two,  and  three  bars  on  the  collar.  A 
major,  lieutenant  colonel,  and  colonel,  wear  one,  two  and  three 
stars  on  the  coll^ir. 

Before  the  marching  past  of  the  brigade,  many  of  the  soldiers 
had  taken  off  their  coats  and  marched  past  the  general  in  their 
shirt  sleeves,  on  account  of  the  warmth.  Most,  of  them  were 
armed  witli  Enfield  rifles  ca[)tured  from  the  enemy.  ]\[any,  how- 
ever, liad  lost  or  thrown  away  their  bayonets,  which  they  don't 
appear  to  value  properly,  as  they  assert  that  they  have  never  met 
any  Yankees  who  would  wait  for  that  weapon.  I  expressed  a  de- 
sire to  see  them  form  squaix^,  but  it  appeared  they  were  "hot 
drilled  to  such  a  manoeuvre"  (except  square  two  deep.)  They 
said  the  country  •did  no.t  admit  of  cavalry  charges,  even  if  the 
Yankee  cavalry  bad  stomach  to  attempt  it. 

Each  regiment  carried  a  *'  batile-flag,"  blue,  with  a  white  border, 
on  which  were  inscribed  the  names  "Belmont,"  "Shiloh,"  "Perry- 
ville,"  "Richmond,  Ky.,"  awd  "  Murfreesboro'."  They  drilled  tol- 
erably well,  and  an  advance  in  line  was  remarkably  good  ;  but  Gen. 
Liddell  had  invented  several  dodges  of  his  own,  lor  which  he  was 
reproved  by  General  Hardee.  'L'lie  review  being  over,  the  troops 
were  harangued  by  Bishop  Elliott  in  an  excellent  address,  partly 
religious,  jjartly  patriot ic.  He  was  followed  by  a  Congressman 
of  vulgar  ajipearance,  named  Hanley,  from  Arkansas,  who  deliv- 
ered himself  of  a  long  and  uninteresting,  political  oration,  and 
ended  by  announcing  himself  as  a  candidate  for  re-election.  This 
speech  seemed  to  me  (and  to  others)  particularly  ill-timed,  out  of 
place,  and  ridiculous,  addressed  as  it  was  to  soldiers  in  front  of  the 
enemy.     But  this  was  one  of  the  results  of   universal   suffrage. 


•  81 

1^ be  soldiers  afterwards  wanted  General  Hardee  to  say  sometliing, 
but.  he  declined.  1  imagine  that  the  discijdine  in  this  army  is  the 
sjtrictest  in  the  Confederacy,  and  that  the  men  are  much  better 
marchers,  than  those  I  saw  in  Mississippi. 

A  soldier  was  shot  in  Wartrace  this  afternoon.  We  heard  the 
volley  just  as  we  left  in  the  cars  for  Shelby  ville.  His  crime  was 
desertion  to  the  enemy  ;  and  as  the  prisoner's  brigade  was  at  Tul- 
lahoma  (twenty  miles  off,)  he  was  executed  without  ceremony  by 
the  Provost  Guard.  Spies  are  hung  every  now  and  then;  but 
General  Bragg  told  me  it  was  almost  impossible  for  either  side  to 
stop  the  practice.. 

Bishop  Elliott,  Dr.  Quintard,  and  myself  got  back  to  General 
Polk's  quarters  at  5  p.  m.,  \v;here  I  was  introduced  to  a  Colonel 
Styles,  who  was  formerly  United  States  Minister  at  Vienna.  In 
the  evening  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  General  Wheeler,  Van 
Dorn's  successor  in  the  command  of  the  cavaly  of  this, army,  which 
is  over  24,000  strong.  He  is  a  very  little- man,  only  twenty-six 
years  of  age,  and  was  dressed  in  a  coat  much  too  big  for  him.  He 
made  his  reputation  by  i)rotecting  the  retreat  of  the  army  through 
Kentucky  last  year.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and 
seems  a  remarkable  ^zealous  oflicer,  besides  being  very  modest  and 
unassuming  in  his  manners.  General  Polk  told  me  that,  notwith- 
standing the  departure  of  Breckinridge^  this  army  is  now  much 
stronger  than  it  was  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro'.  I 
think  that  probalily  45,000  infantry  and  artillery  could  be  brought 
together  immediately  for  a  battle. 

2d  June,  Tuesday. — Colonel  Grenfell  and  I  rode  to  the  outposts, 
starting  on  the  road  to  Murfreesboro'  at  6  a.m.  It  rained  hard 
nearly  all  day.  He  explained  to  me  the  method  of  fighting 
adopted  by  the  Western  cavalry,  which  he  said  was  admirably 
adapted  for 'this  country;  but  he  denied  that  they  could,  un-der 
any  circumstances,  stand  a  fair  charge  of  regular  cavalry  in  the 
open.  Their  sysH^m  is  to  dismount  and  leave  their  horses  in  some 
secure  place.  One  man  is  placed  in  charge  of  his  own  and  three 
other  horses,  whilst  the  remainder  act  as  infantry  skirmishers  in 
the  dense  woods  and  broken  country,  making  a  tremendous  row, 
and  deceiving  the  enemy  as  to  their  numbers,  and  as  to  their  char- 
acter as  infantry  or  cavalry.  In  th.ics  manner  Morgan,  assisted  by 
two  small  guns,  called  bull-dogs,  attacked  the  Yankees  with  suc- 
cess in  towns,  forts,  stockades,  and  steamboats  ;  and  by  the  same 
system,  Wheeler  and  Wharton  kept  a  large  pursuing  array  in 
check  for  twenty-seven  days,,  retreating  and  fighting  every  day, 
and:  deluding  the  enemy  with  the  idea  that  they  were  being  re-^' 
sisted  by  a  strong  force  composed  of  all  three  branches  of  the 
service. 

Colonel  Grenfell  tol3  me  that  the  only  way  in  which  an  officer 
6- 


could  acquire  influence  over  the  Confederate  soldiers -was  by  his 
personal  conduct  under  fire.  They  hold  a  man  in  great  esteem 
■who  in  action  sets  them  an  example  of  contelilpt  for  danger ;  hut 
they  think  nothing  of  an  otTicerwho  is  not  in  the  hahit  of  leading^ 
them;  in  fact  such  a  man  could  not  possibly  retain  his  position. 
Colonel  Grenfell's  expression  was,  "every  atom  of  authority 
has  to  be  purchased. by  a  drop  of  your  hh)od."  He  told  me  he 
was  in  desperate  hot  water  with  the  civil  authorities  of  the  State, 
who  accuse  him  of  illegaljy  impressing  and  appropriating  horses, 
and  also  of  conniving  at  the  escape  of  a  negro  from  his  lawful 
owner,  and  he  said  that  the  military  authorities  were  afraid  or  un; 
able  to  give  him  proper  protection. 

For  the  first  nine  miles  our  road  was  quite  straight,  and  hilly, 
with  a  thick  wood  on  either  side.-  "Vye  then  reached  a  pass  in  the 
hills  called  Guy's  G-a;),  which,  froni  the  position  of  the  hills,  is 
very  strong,  and  could  be  held  by  a  small  force.  The  range  of 
hills  extends  as  far  as  Wartrace,  but.  1  understand  '  the  position 
could  be  turned  on  the  left.  About  two  miles  beyond  Guy's  Gap 
were  the  headquarters  of  General  Martin,  the  officer  who  com- 
mands the  brigade  of  cavalry  stationed  in  tbc  neighborhood. 
General  Martin  showed  me  the  letter  sent  by  the  Yankees  a  few 
.days  ago  by  flag  of  truce  with  Mr.  Vallandigham.  This  letter 
was  curiously  worded, »and  ended,  as  far  as  1  can  remember,  with 
this  expression  ;  "  Mr.  Vallandigham  is  therefore  handed  over  to 
the  respectful  attention  of  the  Confederate  authorities."  Gen<^ral 
Martin  told  me  that  skirmishing 'and  bushwhacking  went  on  nearly 
every  day,  and  that  ten  days  ago  the  enemy's  cavalry,  by  a  bold 
dash,  had  captured  a  field  piece  close  to  his  own  quarters.  It  was, 
however  retaken,  and  its  captors  were  killed. 

One  of  General  Martin's  staff  officers  conducted  us  to  the  bivou- 
ac of  Colonel  Webb,  (three  miles  further  along  the  road,)  who 
commanded  the  regimenton  outpost  duty  there — 51st  Alabama 
Cavalry.  This  Colonel  Webb  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  and 
seemed  a  capital  fellow;  and  he  insisted  c/n  ridijig  with  us  to  the 
vide-ttes  in  spile  of  the  rain,  and  he  also  desired  his  regiment  to 
turn  out  for  us  by  the  time  we  returned.  The  extreme  outposts 
were  about  two  miles  beyond  Colonel  Webb's  post,  and  ltt)out  six- 
teen miles  from  Shelbyville.  The  neutral  ground  extended  for 
about  three  miles.  We  rode  along  it  as  far  as  it:  was  safe  to  do  so, 
and  just  came  within  sight  of  the  Yankee  videttes.  The  Confederate 
videttes  were  at  an  interval  of  from  300  to  400  yardsof  each  other. 
Colonel  Webb's  regiment  was  in  charge  of  two  miles  of  the  front; 
and,  in  a  similar  manner,  the  chain  of  videttes  was  extended  by 
other  corps  right  and  left  for  njore  than  eighty  miles.  Scouts  are 
continually  sent  forward  by  both  sides  to  collect  information.  Ri- 
val scouts  and  pickets  invariably  fire  on  one  another  whenever 
they  meet ;  and  Q61onel  Webb  good-naturedly  offered,  if  I  was 


83 

particularly  anxious  to  see  tfteir  customs  and  habits,  to  send  for- 
ward a  few  men  and  have  a  little  fight.  I  thanked  him  much  for 
his  kind  offer,  but  begged  he  wouldn't  trouble  himself  so  far  on  my 
account.  "He  showed  me  the  house  where  Vallandigham  had  been 
"dumped  down"  between  the  outposts  when  they  refused  to  re- 
ceive him  by  flag  of  truce. 

The  woods  on  both  sides  of  the  road  showed  many  signs  of  the 
conflicts  which  are  of  daily  occurrence.  Most  of  the  houses  by- 
the  roadside  had  been  destroyed;  but  one  plucky  old  lady  had 
steadfastly  refused  to  turn  out,  although  her  house  was  constantly 
an  object  of  contention,  and  showed  many  marks  of  bullets  and 
shell.  ISinety-seven  men  were  employed  every  day  in  Colonel 
Webb's  regiment  to  patrol  the  front.  The  remainder  of  the  51st 
Alabama  were  mounted  and  drawn  up  to  receive  Colonel  Grenfell 
on  our  return  from  the  outposts.  They  were  uniformly  armed 
with  long  rifles  and  revolvers,  but  without  sabres,  and  they  were  a 
fine  body  of  young  men.  Their  horses  were  in  much  better  con- 
dition than  might  have  been  expected,  considering  the  scanty  food 
and  hard  duty  they  had  had  to  put  up  with  for  the  last  five  months, 
without  shelter  of  any  kind,  except  the  trees.  Colonel  Grenfell 
told  me  they  were  a  vtiry  fair  specimen  of  the  immense  number  of 
cavalry  with  Bra'gg's  army.  I  got  back  to  Shelbyvilie  at  4.30  p. 
M.,  just  in  time^to  be  present  at  an  interesting  ceremony  peculiar 
to  America.  This  was  a  baptism  at  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
ceremony  was  performed  in  an  impressive  manner  by  Bishop  El- 
liott, and  the  person  baptized  was  no  less  than  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army.  The  Bishop  took  the  General's  hand  in  his 
own  (the  latter  kneeling  in  front  of  the  font,)  and  said,  "Brax- 
ton, if  thou  hast  not  already  been  baptized,  I  baptize  thee,"  &c. 
Immediately  afterwards  he  confirmed  General  Bragg,  who  then 
shook  hands  with  General  Polk,  the  officers  of  their  respective 
staffs  and  myself,  who  were  the  only  spectators. 

The  soldiers  cm  sentry  at  General  Polkas  quarters  this  aftfernoon 
were  deficient  both  of  shoes  and  stockings.  These  were  the  first 
barefooted  soldiers  I  had  yet  seen  in  the  Confederacy. 

I  had  intended  to  have  left  Shelbyvilie  to-morrow  with  Bishop 
Elliott;  but  as  I  was  informed  that  a  reconnoissance  in  force  was 
arranged  for  to-morrow,  I  accepted  General  Polk's  ^ind  offer  of 
further  hospitality  for  a  couple  of  days  more.  Four  of  Polk's 
brigades  with  artillery  move  to  the  front  to-morrow,  and  General 
Hardee  is  also  to  push  forward  from  Wartrace.  The  object  of 
this^novement  is  to  ascertain  the  enemy's  strength  at  Murfrees- 
boro',  as  rumor  asserts  that  Rosecrans  is  strengthening  Grant  in 
Mississippi,  which  General  Bragg  is  not  disposed  to  allow  with 
impunity.    The  weatljer  is  now  almost  chilly. 

3d  June,  Wednesday. — Bishop  Elliott  left  for  Savannah  at  6  a. 


84 

M.,  in  a  down  pour  of  rain,  which  continued  nearly  all  day.  Gren- 
fell  came  to  see  me  this  mornini?  in  a  towering  rage.  He  had 
been  arrested  in  his  bed  by  the  civil  power  on  a  charge  of  horse-, 
stealing,  and  conniving  at  ti;e  escape  of  a  negro  from  his  master. 
General  Bragg  himself  had  stood  bail  for  him,  but  Gren fell  was! 
naturally  furious  at  the  indignity.  But,  even  according  to  his 
own  account,  beseems  to  have  acted  indiscreetly  in  Ili<^  affair  of 
the  negro,  and  he  will  have  to  appear  before  the  civil  court  next 
October.  General  J^olk  and  his  officers  were  all  much  ve.ved  at  the 
occurrence,  whi(  h,  however,  is  an  extraordinary  ad  convincing 
proof  that  the  military  had  not  superceded  the  civil  power  in  the 
Southern  States;  for  here  was  an  important  officer  arrested,  in 
spite  of  the  commander-in-chief,  when  in  the  execution  of  his  of- 
fice before  the  enemy.  By  standing  bail,  General  Bragg  gave  a 
most  positive  proof  that  he  exonerated  Grenfell  from  any  mal- 
practices.* 

In  the  evening,  after  dark,  General  Polk  drew  my  attention  to 
the  manner  in  which  the  signal  beacons  were  worked.  One  light 
was  stationary  on  the  ground,  whilst^another  wusjiioved  back- 
wards and  forwards  over  it.  They  gave  us  intelligence  that  Gen- 
eral Hardee  had  pushed  the  enemy  to  within  five  miles  of  Murfrees- 
boro',  after  heavy  skirmishing  all  day. 

*  I  cut  this  out  of  a  Charleston  paper  some  days  after  I  had  parted  from . 
C»il<»iiel  Grenfell ;  Colonel  Grenfell  was  only  obeying  General  Br;igg's  orders 
in  depriving  the  soldior  of  his  horse,  and  temporarily  of  his  money: 

"  Colonel  St.  Leger,  Grenfell. — The  Western  army  correspondent  of 
the  Mobile  Register  writes  as  follows :  The'famous  Colonel  St.  Le^er  Gren- 
fell, whn  served  with  Morgan  last  summer,  and  since  tli;it  time  has  been  As- 
sistant Inspector  General  of  General  Bragg,  was  arrested  ii  few  Auys  since  by 
the  civil  atitiiorities.  The  sherift"  and  his  officers  called  upon  the  bold  Eng- 
lishman before  he  had  arisen  in  the  moi-ning,  and  after  the  latter  had  per- 
formed his  tnilet  duties  he  buckled  on  his  belt  and  trusty  pistols.  The  officer 
of  the  law  remonstrated,  and  the  Englishman  d;innied,  and  a  strjiggle  of  half 
an  hour  ensued,  in  which  the«tout  Bi'itisher  made  a  pow*»rful  resistance,  but, 
by  overpowering  force,  was  at  last  placed  /tors  <lc  combat  and  disarmed. t  The 
charges  were,  that  he  retained  in  his  possession  the  slave  of  a  Confederate 
citizen,  and  refused  to  deliver  him  or  her  up;  that  meeting  a  soldier  coming 
to  the  army  leading  a  horse,  he  accu^ed  him  of  being  a  deserter,  dismounted 
him,  took  his  horses,  equipments  and  rnuncy,  stating  that  deserters  were  not 
worthy  to  have  either  horses  or  money,  and  sent  the  owner  thereof  off  where 
he  wnuld  not  be  heard  of  again.  The  result  of  the  affair  was,  that  Colonel 
Grenfell,  whether  guilty  or  not  guilty,  delivered  up  the  negro,  hor>es  and 
money  to  the  civil  authorities.  If  the  charges  against  him  are-  proven  true, 
then  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  course  of  General  Bragg  will  be  to  dismiss 
him  from  his  stJifT;  but  if,  on  the  contrary,  malicious  slanders  ar(^  defaming 
this  ally,  he  is  Hercules  enough  and  biave  enough  to  punish  them'!' His 
bravery  and  gallantry  were  conspicuous  throughout  the  Kentucky  campaign, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  this  late  tarui'sh  on  his  fame  will  be  removed;  or,  if  it 
be  not  that  he  will."  , 

t  This  is  all  nonsense — the  myrmidons  of  the  law  took  very  good  care  to 
pounce  upon  Colonel  Grenfell  when  he  was  in  bed  and  asleep. 


85 

I  ^ot  out  of  General  Polk  the  story  of  his  celebrated  adventure 
with  the  — -^  Indiana  (Northern)  regiment,  which  resulted  in  the 
almost  total  destruction  of  that  corps.  I  had  often  during  my 
tra^vels  heard  oflficers  and  soldiers  tallying  of  this  extraordinary 
feat  of  the  "Bishop's."  The  modest  yet  graphic  manner  in  which 
Gen.  Polk  related  this  wonderful  instance  of  coolness  and  bravery 
was  extremely  interesting,  and  I  now  repeat  it,  as  nearly  as  I  can, 
in  his  own  words. 

*'  Well,  sir,  it  was  at  the  battle  of  Perry ville,  late  in  the  even- 
ing— in  fact,  it  was  almost  dark  when  Liddell's  brigade  came  into 
action.  Shortly  after  its  arrival  I  observed  a  body  of  men,  whom 
I  believed  to  be  Confederates,  standing  at  an  angle  to  this  brigade, 
and  firing  obliquely  at  the  newly  arrived  troops.  I  said.  'Dear 
nie,  this  is  very  sad,  and  must  be  stopped ;'  so  I  turned  round. 
•  but  could  find  none  of  my  young  men,  who  were  absent  on  dif- 
ferent messages;  so  I  determined  to  ride  myself  and  settle  the 
matter.  Having  cantered  up  to  the  colonel  of  the  regiment  which 
was  firing,  [  asked  him  in  angry  tones  what  he  meant  by  shooting 
his  own  friends,  and  I  desired  him  to  cease  doing  so  at  once.  He 
answered  with  surprise,  '  I  don't  think  there  can  be  any  mistake 
about  it ;  I  am  sure  they  are  the  enamy.'  '  Enemy  ! '  I  said  ; 
'why,  I  have  only  just  left  them  myself  Cease  firing,  sir  ;  what 
is  your  name,  sir  1 "  "  Mi/  name  is  Colonel ,  oj'  the In- 
diana ;  and  pray,  sir,  who  ar^e  you  ?  " 

"Then  for  the  first  time  I  saw,  to  my  astonishment,  that  he  was 
a  Yankee,  and  that  I  was.  in  rear  of  a  regiment  of  Yankees. — 
Well,  I  saw  that  there  was  no  hope  but  to  brazen  it  out ;  my  dark 
blouse  and  the  increasing  obscurity  befriended  me,  so  I  approached 
quite  close  to  him  and  shook  my  fist  in  his  face,  saying,  '  1,11  soon 
show  you  who  I  am,  sir  ;  cease  firing,  ^ir,  at  once.'  I  then  turned 
my  horse  and  cantered  slowly  down  the  line,  shouting  in  an  au- 
thoritative manner  to  the  Yankees  to  cease  firing;  at  the  same 
time  I  expeiienced  a  disagreeable  sensation,  like  ?;crewing  up  my 
back,  and  calculating  how  many  bullets  would  be  between  my 
shoulders  every  moment.  I  was  afraid  to  increase  my  pace  until 
I  got  to  a  small  copse,  when  I  put  the  spurs  in  and  galloped  back 
•to  my  men.  I  immediately  went  up  to  the  nearest  colonel,  and 
said  to  him,  '  Colonel,  I  have  reconnoitred  those  fellows  pretty 
closely — and  I  find  there  is  no  mistake  who  they  are;  you  may 
get  up  and  go  at  them.'  i  And  I  assure  you,  sir,  that  the  slaughter 
of  that  Indiana  regiment  was  the  greatest  I  have  ever  seen  in  the 
War."* 

It  is  evident  to  me  that  a  certain  degree  of  jealous  feeling  ex- 
ists between  the  Tennesseean  and  Virginian  armies.    This  one 

*  If  these  lines  should  ever  meet  the  eyes  of  General  Pr»lk,  I  hope  he  will 
forgive  me  if  I  have  made  any  error  in  recordings  hi*  adventure. 


86 

claims  to  have  'had  harder  fighting  than  the  Virginian  army,  and 
to. have  been  opposed  to  the  best  troops  an-d  best  generals  of  the 
Nort^. 

The  Southerners  generally  appear  to  estimate  highest  the  north- 
western Federal  troops,  wliich  compose  in  a  great  degree  the 
armies  of  Grant  and  llosecrans  ;  they  come  from  the  States  of 
Ohio,  Iowa,  Indiana,  &;c.  Tlie  Irish  Federals  are  also  respected 
for  their  figiiting  ([ualities;  whilst  the  g(;nuijie  Yankees  and  Ger- 
mans (Dutch)  are  not-Miiuch  esteemed. 

I  have  been  agreeal)ly  disappointed  in  tlie  climate  of  Tennessee, 
wiiich  appears  quite  temperate  to  what  1  had  expected. 

Ai^  June,  Thursday.— Colonel  Richmond  rode  with  me  to  the 
outposts,  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  reconuoissance  which  was 
being  conducted  under  the  command  of  General  Cheatham.  We 
readied  the  field  of  operations  at  2  p.  im.,  and  found  that  Martin's 
cavalry  (dismounted)  had  advanced  upon  the  enemy  about  three 
niiK^s,  and,  after  some  brisk  skirmishing,  had  driven  in  his  outposts. 
Tlie  enemy  showed  about  2000  infantry ,%strongly  posted,  his  guns 
commanding  the  turnpike  road..  The  Confederate  infantry  was 
concealed  in  the  woods,  about  a  mile  in  rear  of  the  dismounted 
cavalry. 

This  being  the  position  of  affairs,  Colonel  Richmond  and  1  rode 
along  the  road  so  far  as  it  was  safe  to  do  so.  We  then  dismounted, 
and  sneaked  on  in  the  woods  alongside  the  road' until  we  got  to 
within  SOO  yards  of  the  Yankees,  whom  we  then  reconnoitered 
leisurely  with  our  glasses.  We  could  only  count  about  seventy  in- 
fantry soldiers,  with  one  field  piece  in  the  wood  at  an  angle  of  the 
road,  and  we  saw  several  staff  officers  galloping  about.with  orders. 
Whilst  we  were  thus  engaged,  some  heavy  firing  and  loud  cheer- 
ing suddenly  commenced  in  the  woods  on  our  left;  so,  fearing  to 
be  outflanked,  we  remounted  and  rode  back  to  an  open  space, 
about  GOO  yards  to  the  rear,  where  we  found  General  Martin  giv- 
ing orders  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  cavalry  horses  in  the  front, 
and  the  retreat  of  the  skirmishers. 

It  was  very  curious  to  see  three  hundred  horses  suddenly  emerge 
from  the  wood  just  in  front  of  us,  where  they  had  l)een  hidden — 
one  man  to  every  four  horses,  riding  one  and  leading  the  other 
three,  which  were  tied  together  by  the  heads.  In  this  order  I  saw 
them  cross  a.  cotton-field  at  a  smart  trot,  and  take  up  a  more  secure 
position;  two  or  three  men  cantered  about  in  the  rear  flanking  up 
the  led  horses.  They  were  shortly  afterwards  followed  by  the  men 
of  the  regmient,  retreating  in  skirmishing  order  under  Cblone^ 
Webb,  and  they  lined  a  fence  parallel  to  us.  The  same  thing 
went  on  on  our  right.  # 

As  the  firing  on  our  left  still  continued,  my  friends  were  in  great 


.87 

hopes  that  the  Yankees  might  be  inveigled  on  to  follow  the  retreat- 
ing skirmishers  until  they  fell  in  with  the  two  infantry  brigades, 
which  we're  lying  in  ambush  for  them  ;  and  it  was  arranged,  in 
that  case,  that  some  mounted  Confederates  should  then  get  in  thier 
rear,  and  so  capture  a  good  ncuiiher;  but  this  simple  and  ingenious 
device  was  frustrated  by  the  sulkiness  of  the  enemy,  who  now 
stubbornly  refused  to  advance  any  further.    • 

The  way  in  which  the  horses  were  managed  was  very  pretty, 
and  seemed  to  answer  admirably  for  this  sort  of  skirmishing. 
They  weie  never  far  from  the  men,  who  could  mount  and  be  off  to 
another  part  of  the  field  with  rapidity,  or  retire  to  take  up  another 
position,>3r  act  as  cavalry  as  the  case  might  require.  Both  the, su- 
perior officers  and  the  men  behaved  with  the  most  complete  cool- 
ness; and,  whilst  we  were  waiting  in  hopes  of  a  Yankee  advance, 
I  h^ard  the  soldiers  remarking  that  they  ''didn't  like  being  done 
out  of  their  good  boots" —  one  of  the  principal  objects  in  killing  a 
Yankee  being  apparently  to  get  hold  of  his  valuable  boots.* 

A  tremendous  row  went  on  in  the  woods  during, this  bushwhack- 
ing, and  the  trees  got  knocked  about  in  all  directions  by  shell ; 
but  I  imagine  that  the  actual  slaughter  in  these  skirmishes  is  very 
small,  unless  they  get  fairly  at  one  another  in  the  open  cultivated 
spaces  between  the  woods.  I  did  not  see  or  hear  of  anybody 
being  killed  to-day,  although  there  were  a  few  wounded  and  some 
horses  killed.  Colonel  Richmond  and  Colonel  Webb  were  much 
disappointed  that  the  inactivity  of  the  enemy  prevented  my  seeing 
the  skirmish  assume  larger  proportions,  and  General  Cheatham 
said  to  me,  "We' should  be  very  happy  to  see  you,  Colonel,  when 
we  are  in  our  regular  way  of  doing  business." 

After  waiting  in  vain  until  5  p.  m.,  and  seeing  no  signs  of  any 
thing  more  taking  place.  Colonel  RichmoUvl  and  I  cantered  back 
to  Shelby ville.  We  were  accompanied  by  a  detachment  of  Gen- 
eral Polk's  body  guard,  which  was  coniposed  of  young  men  of 
good  position  in  NewOrleans.  Most  of  them  spoke  in  the  French 
language,  and  nearly  alliiad  slaves  in  the  field  with  them,  al- 
though they  ranked  only  as  private  soldiers,  and  had  to  perfom 
the  onerous  duties  of  orderlies,  (or  couriers,  as  they  are  called.) 
On  our  way  back  we  heard  heavy  firing  on  our  left,  from  the  di- 
rection in  which  General  Withers  was  conducting  his  share  of  the 
reconnoissance  with  two  other  infantry  briga.des. 

After  dark,  General  Polk  got  a  message  from  Cheatham,  to  say 
that  the  enemy  had  .after  all  advanced  in  heavy  force  about  6.15 
P.  M.,  and  obliged  him  to  retire  to  Guy's  Gap.  We  also  heard  that 
General  Cleburne,  who  had  advanced  from  Wartrace,  had  had  his 
horse  shot  under  him.  The  object  of  the  reconnoissance  seemed, 
.therefore,  to  have  been  attained,  for  apparently  the  enemy  was 


88 

still  in  strong  force  at  Murfreesboro',  and  manifested  no  intention 
of  yielding  it  without  a  struggle. 

I  took  leave  of  General  l^olk  before  I  turned  in.  His  kindness 
and  hospitaliry  have  exceeded  anything  I  could  have  expected. 
I  shall  always  feel  grateful  to  him  on  this  account,  and  I  shall 
never  think  of  hiui  without  admiration  for  his  character  as  a  sin- 
cere patriot,  a  gatlant  soldier,  and  a  perfect  gentleman.  His  aids-de- 
camp, Cols.  Richmond  and  Yeatnian,  are  also  excellent  types  of  the 
higher  class  of  Southerners.  Highly  educated,  wealthy  and  pros- 
perous before  the  war,  they  have  abandoned  all  for  their  country. 
They,  and  all  other  Southern  gentlemen  of  the  same  rank,  are 
proud  of  their  descent  from  Eny:lishmen.  They  glory  in  speaking 
English  as  we  do,  and  that  their  nianners  and  feelings  reseml.»le 
those  of  the  upper  classes  in  the  old  country.  No  staff  otlicers 
could  perform  their  duties  with  more  zeal  and  eflftciency  than  these 
gentlemen,  although  they  were  not  educated  as  soldiers. 

bth  June,  Friday.— T  left  Shelbyville  at  6  a.  ivt.,  after  having 
been  shaken  hands  with  affectionately  Iw  *•  Aaron,"  and  arrived 
at  Chattanooga  at  4  v.  m.^  As  I  was  thus  far  under  the  protection 
of  Lieutenant  Donnelson,  of  General  Pol-k's  staff,  1  made  this  jour- 
ney under  more  agreeable  auspices  than  the  last  time.  The  scen- 
ery was  really  quite  beautiful. 

East  Tennessee  is  said  to  contain  many  people  who  are  more 
favorable  to  the  North  than  to  the  South,  and  its  .inhabitants  are 
now  being  conscripted  by  the  Confederates ;  but  they  sometimes 
object  to  this  operation,  and,  takiiig  to  the  hills  and  woods,  com- 
mence bushwhacking  there. 

I  left  Chattanooga  for  Atlanta  at  4.30  p.  m.  The  train  was 
much  crowded  with  wounded  and  sick  soldiers  returning  on  leave 
to  their  homes.  A  goodish-looking  woman  was  pointed  out  to  me 
in  the  cars  as  having  served  as  a  pr'ivatt.^  soldier.in  the  battles  of 
Perryville  and  Murfreesboro'.  Several  men  in  my  car  had  served 
with  her  in  a  Louisiana  regiment,  and  thoy  said  she  had  been 
turned  out  a  short  time  since  for  her  bad  and  immoral  conduct. 
They  told  me  that  her  sex  was  not  irious  to  all  the  regiment,  but 
no  notice  had  b^en  taken  of  it  so  long  as  she  conducted  herself 
properly.  They  also  said  that  she  was  not  the  only  representative 
of  ttie  female  sex  in  the  ranks.  When  I  saw  her  she  wore  a  sol- 
dier's hat  and  coat,  but  had  resumed  her  petticoats. 

Q>th  June,  Saturday.— Arrived  at  Atlanta  at  3  a.  m.,  and  took 
three  hours'  sleep  at  the  Trout  House.  After  breakfasting,  I  start- 
ed again  for  Augusta  at  7  a.  m.,  (174  miles;)  but  the  train 
had  liot  proceeded  ten  miles  before  it  was  brought  up  by  an  obstruc- 
tion, in  the  shape  of  a  broken-down  freight  train,  one  of  whose''' 
cars  was  completely  smashed.     This  delayed  us  for  about  an 

-  :  \ 


..      .89 

hour,  but  we  made  up  for  it  afterwards,  and  arrived  at  Augusta  at 
5.15  p.  H. 

The  country  through  Georgia  is  undulating,  well  cultivated,  and 
moderattfly  covered  with  trees;  and  this  part  of  the  Confederacy 
has  as  yet  suffered  but  little  from  the  war.  At  some  of  the  sta- 
tions provisions  for  the  soldiers  were  brougiU.  into  the  cars  by 
ladies,  and  distributed  gratis.,  When  I  refused  on  the  ground  of, 
not  iieing  a  soldier,  these  ladies  looked  at  oie  with  gneat  suspicion, 
mingled  with  conlempt,  and  as  their  looks  evidently  expressed  the 
words,  "'Then  why  are  you  not  a  soldier?"  I' was  obliged  to 
explain  to  them  who  I  was,  and  show  them  General  Bragg's  pass, 
which  astonished  them  not  a  little.  I  was  told  that  Georgia  was 
the  only  State  in  which  soldiers  were  still  so  liberally  treated — 
they  have  becoii;e  so  very  common  everywhere  else.  On  reach- 
ing Augusta,  I  put  up  at  the  Planters'  House,  which  seemed  very 
luxurious  to  me  after  so  many  hours  of  the  cars.  But  the  Au- 
gusta climate  is  evidently  nuich  hotter  than  Tennessee. 

7tk  June,  Sunday. — Augusta  is  a  city  of  20,000  inhabitants ; 
but  its  streets  being  extremely  wide,  and  its  houses  low,  it  covers 
avast  space.  Noplace  that  I  have  seen  in  the  Southern  States 
shows  so  little  traces  of  the  war,  and  it  formed  a  delightful  con- 
trast to  the  war-worn;  poverty-stricken,  dried-up  towns  I  had 
lately  visited.  I  went  to  the  Episcoj)al  church,  and  might  almost 
have  fancied  myself  in  England;  the  ceremonies  were  exactly  the 
same,  and  the  church  was  full  of  well-dressed,  people. 

At  2  p.  M.  I  dined  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Carmichael,  son-in-law  to 
Bishop  Elliott,  who  told  me  there  were  2000  volunteers  in  Augus- 
ta, regulaily  drilled  and  prepared  to  resist  raids.  These  men 
were  exempted  from  the  conscription,  either  on  account  of  their 
age,  nationality,  or  other  cause — or  had  purchased  siibstitutes. 
At  3  p.  M.  Mr.  Carmichael  sent  me  in  his  buggy  to  call  on  Colonel 
Ilains,  the  superintendent  of  the  Government  works  here.  My 
principal  object  in  stopping  at  Augusta  Was  to  visit  the  powder 
manufactory  and  arsenal ;  hut,  to  my  disappointment,  I  discov- 
ered that  the  present  wants  of  the  State,  did  not  render  it  neces- 
sary to  keep  these  establishments  op«n  on  Sundays. 

I. hail  a^long  and  most  interesting  conversation  with  Colonel 
Rains,  who  is  afvery  clever,  highly  educated,  and  agreeable  offi- 
cer. He  was  brought  up  at  West  Point,  and  afWr  a  shorr  service 
in  the  United  States  army,  he  became  Professor  of  Chemistry  at 
the  Military  College.  He  was  afterwards  much  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  machinery  in  the  Northern  States.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  this  war,  with  his  usual  perspicacity.  President  Da- 
vis selected  Colonel  Rains  as  the  most  competent  person  to  build 
and  to  work  the  Government  factories  at  Augusta,  giving  him 
carte  blanche  to  act  as  he  thought  best ;  and  the  result,  has  proved 


90       • 

the  wisdom  of  the  Presidenrs  choice.  Colonel  Rains  told  me 
thatattlie  beginning  of  the  troubles,  scarcely  a  grain  of  gunpow- 
der was  manufactured  in  the  whole  of  the  Southern  States.  The 
Augusta  powder  mil  s  and  arsenal  were  then  comntenced,  and  no 
less  than  seven  thousand  jwunds  of  powder  are  noio  mnde  every 
day  in  the  powder  nianufuctory.  The  cost  to  the  Government  of 
making  the  powder  is  only  four  cents  a  pound.  *The  saltpetre 
(nine-tenths  o^  which  runs  the  blockade  from  England)  cost  for- 
nierly  Seventy-five  cents,  but  has  latterly  been  more  expensive. 
Jn  the  construction  of  the  powder-mills,  Colonel  Rains  told  ine  he 
had  heen  much  indebted  to  a  pamphlet  by  Major  Bradley  of  VVal- 
tham  Abbey. 

At  the  cannon  foundry,  one  Napoleon  12-pounder  is  turned  out 
every  two  days;  but  it*is  hoped  very  soon  that  (^He  of  these  guns 
may  be  finished  daily.  The  guns  are  made  of  a  metal  recently 
invented  by  the  Austrians,  and  recommended  to  the  Confederate 
Government  by  Mr.  Mason.  They  are  tested  by  a  charge  of  ten 
pounds  of  powder,  and  by  loading  them  to  the  muzzle  wilh-bolts. 
Two  hundred  excellent  mechanics  are  exempted  from  the  con- 
scription, to  be  employed  at  the  mills.  The  wonderful  speed  with 
whic-h  these  works  have  been  constructed,  their  great  success, 
and  their  immense  national  value,  are  convincing  proofs  of  the 
determined  energy  of  the  Southern  character,  now  that  it  has 
been  roused;  and  also  of  the  zeal  and  skill  of  Colonel  Rains. 
lie  told  me  that  Augusta  had  been  selected  as  a  site  for  these 
works  on  account  of  its  remoteness  from  the  probable  seats  of 
war,  of  its  central  position,  and  of  its  great  facilities  of  transport ; 
fvr  this  city  can  boast  of  a  ;iavigable  river  and  a  canal,  besides 
Reing  situated  on  a  central  railroad.  Colonel  Rains  said,  that 
although  the  Southerners  had  certainly  been  hard  up  for  gunpow- 
der at  the  early  part  of  the  war,  they  were  still  harder  up  for  per- 
cussion caps.  An  immense  number  (I  forget. how  many)  of  these 
are  now  made  daily  in  the  Government  factory  at  Atlanta. 

1  left  Augusta  at  7  p.  m.  by  train  for  Charleston.  My  car  was 
much  crowded  with  Yankee  prisoners. 

8/A  June,  Monday. — I  arriv'ed  at  Charleston  ak  5  a.  m.,  and 
drove  at  once  in  an  omnibus  to  the  Charleston  Hotel.  At  nine 
o'clock  I  called  at  General  Beauregard's  office,' but  to  my  dis- 
Mppointnient,  I  found- that  he  was  absent  on  a  tour  of  inspection 
in  Florida.  He  is,  howi.n^er,  expected  to  return  in  two  or  three 
days.         •  •  ■    •       ■         4, 

I  then  called  on.  General  Ripley,  who  commands  the  garrison 
ami  forts  of  Charleston.  He  is  a  jovial  character,  very  fond  of 
the  good  things  of  this  life;  but  it  is  said  that  he  never  allows 
this  propensity  to  interfere  with  his  military  duties,  in  the  per- 
f(innance  of  which  he  displays  both  zeal  and  talent.     He  has  the 


91 

reputation  of  being  an  excellent  artillery  officer,  and  although  by 
birth  a  Northerner,  he  is  a  red  hot  and  indefatigable  rebel.  I  be- 
lieve he  wrote  a  book  about  the  Mexican  war,  and  after  leaving 
the  old  army,  he  was  a  good  deal  in  England,  connected  with  the 
small  arms  factory  at  Enfield,  and  other  enterprises  of  the  same 
sort.  Nearly  all  the  credit  of  the  efficiency  of  the  Charleston 
fortifications  is  due  to  him.  And  notwithstanding  his  Northern 
birlh  and  occasional  rollicking  habits,  he  is  generally  poj)ular. 

1  then  cal  ed  on  Mr.  Robertson,  a  merchant,  for  whom  1  had 
brought  a  letter  of  introduction  from  England.  This  old  gentle- 
man took  me  a  drive  in  his  buggy  at  6  p.  ^].  It  appears  that  at 
this  tiu»e  of  the  year  the  country  outside  the  city  is  quite  pesti- 
lential, for  when  we  reached  the  open,  Mr.  Robertson  pointed  to  a 
detached  house  and  said,  "Now,  1  am  as  fond  of  money  as  any 
Jew,  yet  1  wouldn't  sleep  in  that  house  for  one  night  if  you  gave 
it  to  me  for  doing  so." 

I  had  intended  to  have  vi«?ited  Mr.  Blake,  an  English  gentle- 
man tor  whom  I  had  a  letter,  on  his  Conibahj^e  plantation,  but  Mr. 
Robertson  implored  me  to  abandon  this  idea.  Mr.  Robertson 
was  full  of  t/lie  disasters  which  had  resulted  from  a  recent  Yankee 
raid  of  the  Combahee  river.  It  appears  that  a  vast  amount  of 
property  had  l>een  destroyed  and  slaves  carried  oti'.  This  morn- 
ing I  saw  a  poor  old  planter  in  Mr.  Robertson's  office,  who  bad 
been  suddenly  and  totally  ruined  by  this  raid.  The  raiders  con- 
sisted principally  of  Northern  armed  negroes,  and  as  they  met 
with  no  Southern  whites  to  resist  them,  they  were  able  to  eflfect 
their  depredations  with  total  impunity.  It  seems  that  a  good 
deal  of  the  land  about  Charleston  belongs  either  to  Blakes  or 
Heywards.  Mr.  Blake  lost  thirty  negroes  in  the  last  raid,  but  he 
has  lost  since  the  beginning  of  the  war  about  150. 

^  Mr.  Robertson  afterwards  took  me  to  see  Mrs. ,  who  is  Mr. 

Wiilter  Blake's  daughter.  To  me,  who  had  roughed  it  for  ten 
weeks  to  such  an  extent,  Charleston  appeared  most  comtbrtable 
and  luxurious.  But  its  inhabitants  must„i%j  say  the  least,  be  suf- 
fering great  inconvenience.  The  lighting  and  paying  of  the  city 
had  gone  to  the  bad  completely.  Most  of  the  shops  were  shut  up. 
Tho.^e  that  were  open  contained  but  very  few  goods,  and  those 
were  at  famine  prices.  I  tried  to  buy  a  black  scarf,  but  1  couldn  t 
find  such  an  article  in  all  Charleston. 

An  immense  amount  of  speculation  in  blockade  running  was 
going  on,  and  a  great  deal  of  business  is  evidently  done  in  buying 
and  'selling  negroes,  for  the  papers  are  'full  of  advertisements  of 
slave  auctions.  That  portion  of  the  city  destroyed  by  the  great 
fire  presents  the  appearance  of. a  vast  wilderness  in  the  very  cen- 
tre of  the  town,  no  attempt  having  been  made  towards  rebuilding 
it ;  this  desert  space  looks  like  the  Pompeian  ruins,  and  extends, 


92 

*  \ 

Mr.  RobertsoTi  says,  for  a  mile  in  length  byhalf  a  mile  in  wiflth. 
Nearly  all  the  distance  l>etween  the  Mills  House  and  Charleston 
Hotel  is  in  this  desolate  state.  The  fire  began  quite  by  ac- 
(•i(lent,  but  the  violent  \vind  which  suddenly  arose  rendered  all 
attempts  to  stop  the  flames  abortive.  The  deserted  state  of  the 
wharves  is  melancholy — the  huge  placards  announcing  lines  of 
steamers  to  New  York,  New  Orleans,  and  to  different  parts  of  the 
world,  still  remain,  and  give  one  an  idea  of  what  a  busy  scene 
they  used  to  be.  The  people,  however,  all  seem  happy,  contented 
and  determined.  Both  the  great  hotels  are  crowded;  and  well 
dressed,  handsome  ladies  are  plentiful  ;  the  fare  is  good,  and  the 
charge  at  the  Charleston  Hotel  is  eight  dollars  a  day. 

9fk  June,  Tuesday. — A  Captain  Fielden  came  to  call  upon  me 
at  9  A.  M.  He  is  an  Englishman,  and  formerly  served  in  the  42d 
Highlanders.  He  is  now  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  is  on 
the  staff  of  General  Beauregard.  1  remember  his  brother 
cpiite  well  at  Sandhurst.  Captain  ,Fie'den  accompanied  me  to 
General  Ripley's  oflfice,  "and  at  12  o'clock  the  latter  officer  took  us 
in  his  boat  to  inspect  Fort  Sumter.  Our  party  consisted  of  an  in- 
valid-General Davis,  a  Congressman  named  Nult,  Captain  Fielden, 
the  General  and  myself  We  reached  Fort  Sumter  after  a  pull  of 
about  three-quarters  of  an  hour.*  Thisnow  celebrated  fort  is  a  pen- 
tagonal work  built  of  red  brick.  It  has  two  tiers  of  casemates,  be- 
sides a  heavy  barbette  battery.  Its  walls  are  twelve^  feet  thick  at 
the  piers,  and  six  feet  thick  at  the  embrasure*.  It  rises  sheer  out 
<»f  the  water,  and  is  apparently  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  bay, 
but  on  its  side  towards  James'  Island  the  water  is  extremely  shal- 
low. It  mounts  sixty-eighr  guns,  of  a  motley  but  efficient  descrip- 
tion. Ten  inch  caluud)iads  predominate,  and  are  perhaps  the  most 
useful.  They  weigh  14,000  pounds  (125  cwt.)  throw  a  solid  shot 
weighing  128  pounds,  and  are  made  to  traverse  with  the  greatest 
ease  by  means  of  Yates's  system  of  cog-wheels.  There  are  also 
eight-inch  columbiads,  rifled  forty-two  pounders,  and  Brook 'guns 
to  throw  flat-headed  f  ro'f^ctiles  (General  Ripley  told  me  that  these 
Brook  guns,  about  vbioh  so  much  is  said,.  clitFer  butiittle  from  the 
Blakely  cannon  ;)  al,  u  tuere  are  Parrot  guns  and  Dahlgrens  ,  in 
fadv  a  general  assortment  of  every  species  of  ordnance  except 
Wliitworths  and  Armstrongs.  But  the  best  gun  in  the  fort  is  a 
tine  new  eleven-inch  gun,  which  had  just  been  fished  up  from  the 
wreck  of  the  Kedkuk;  the  sister  gun  from  the  same  WH'eck  is  at 
..  The  garrison  consists  of  350  enlisted  soldiers  under  Colo- 
nel Rhett.  They  are  called  Confederate  States  regidars,  and 
certainly  they  saluted  iu  a  more  soldier-like  w^ay  than  the  ordina- 
ry  volunteers.  .  A  great  proportion  of  them  are  foreigners. 


*  As  Fort  Sumter  must  he  in  a  very  diflferent  state  now  to  what  it  was 
when  I  «!aw  it,^I  think  there  can  be  no  harm  in  describing  the  fort  as  it  then 
stood — November,  1863.  , 


^3 

Fort  Sumter  now  shows  but  little  signs  of  the  battering  it  un- 
derwent from  the  ironclads  eight  weeks  ago.  The  two  faces  ex- 
posed to  fire  have  been  patched  up  so  that  large  pieces  of  masonry 
have  a  newer  appearance  than  the  mass  of  the  buihling.  The  guns 
have  been  removed  from*  the  casemates  on  the  eastern  face,  and  the 
lower  tier  of  casemates  has  been  filled  up  with  earth  to  give  extra 
strength,  and  prevent  theballs  from  coming  right  through  into  the 
interior  of  the  work,  which  happened  at  the  last. attack.  There  is 
consequently  a  deep  hole  in  the  parade  inside  Fort  Sumter,  from 
which  the  earlh  had  been  taken  to  fill -up  these  casemates.  'IMie 
angles  of  Sumter  are  being  strengthened  outside  by  stone  but- 
tresses. Some  of  the  cheeks  of  the  upper  embrasures  have  been 
faced  with  blocks  of  iron  three  feet  long,  eight  inches  thick,  and 
twelve  inches  wide.  I  saw  the  effect  of  a  heavy  shot  on  one  of 
these  blocks  which  had  been  knocked  right  away,  and  had  fallen: 
in  two  pieces  on  the  rocks  below,  but  it  had  certainly  saved  the 
embrasure  froiii  further  injury  that  time.  I  saw  some  solid  fifteen- 
inch  shot  which  had  been  fired  by  the  enemy:  they  weigh  425  lb. 
I  was  told  that  several  fifteen-inch  shell  had  struck  in  the  walls  and 
burst  there,  tearing  away  great  flakes  of  masonry,  and  making 
holes  two  feet  deep  at  the  extreme.     None  of  the  ironclads  would 


approach  nearer  than  nine  hundred  yands,  and  the  Keokuk,  which 
was  the  only  one  that  came  thus  close,  got  out  of  order  in  five 
minutes,  and  was  completely  disabled  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  She 
sank  on  the  following  morning.  Solid  ten-inch  shot  and  seven- 
inch  flat-heads  were  used  upon  her.  Ripley  said  he  would  give  a 
great  deal  for  some  more  eleven-inch  guns,  but  he  can't  get^hem 
except  by  such  chances  as  the  Keokuk. 

The  fight  only  lasted  two  hours  and  twenty-five  minutes.  Fort 
Sumter  bore  nearly  the  whole  weight  of  the  attack,  assisted  in  a 
slight  degree  by  Moultrie.  Only  one  man  was  killed,  which  was 
caused  by  the  fall  of  the  flagstaff.  The  Confederates  were  unable 
to  believe  until  some  time  af>erwards  the  real  amount  of  the  dam- 
age they  had  inflicted;  noi-.*did  they  discover  until  next  day  that 
the  affair  vvas  a  serious  attacji,  and  not  a  reconnoissance.  General 
Kipley  spoke  with  the  greatest  confidence  of  being  able  to  repulse 
any  other  attack  of  the  same  sort.  Colopel  Rhett,  the  command- 
ant, entertained  us  with  luncheon  in  one  of  the  casemates.  He  is  a 
handsome  and  agreeable  man,  besides  being  a  zealous  officer.  J^e 
told  me  that  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  his  subordinates  was 
Captain  Mitchell,  son  to  the  so-called  Irisih  patriot,  who  is  editor 
of.  one  of  the  Richniond  newspapers.  * 

'I  From  the  summit  of  Fort  Sumter  a  good  general  view  is  ob- 
trained  of  the  harbor,  and  of  the  fortifications  commanding  the 
approach   to  Charleston.     Castle  Pinckney  and  Fort  Sumter  are 

*  Whose  death  we  have  to  mourn  since  the  above  was  written. 


94 

.two  old  iiiasonry  works  built  on  islands — Pinckney  being:  much 
ciospr  to  th(^  city  than  Sunilrr.  Between  them  is  Fort  Ripley, 
which  mounts  — i —  heavy  guns.  Moultrieville,  with  its  numerous 
furts,  t'cillt^d  Battery  Bee,  Fort  Moultrie,  Fort  Beauregard,  <fcc.,  is 
on  Sullivan's  Island,  one  mjle  distant  from  Fort  Sumter.     There 

are  excellent  arrangements  of ,  and  other  contrivances,  to  foul 

the  screw  of  a  vessel  between  Sumter  and  ]\loultrie.  On  the 
othei-  side  of  Fort.  Sumter  is  Fort  Johnson,  on  Jafnes  Island,  Fori; 
Cummins  Point,  and  Fort  Wagner,  on  Morris  Island.  In  fact, 
both  sides  of  the  harbor  4'or  several  miles  appear  to  bristle  with 
forts  mounting  heavy  guns. 

The  bar,  beyond  which  we  counted  thirteen  blocl<aders,  is  nine  .- 
miles  from  the  city.  Sumter  is  three  and  a  half  miles  from  the 
city.  Two  or  three  thousand  Yankees  are  now  supposed  to  be  on 
Folly  Island,  which  is  next  beyond  Morris  Island,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  they  are  to  be  shelled  from  the  Confederate  batteries  on  Mor- 
ris Island.  The  new  Confederate  tiag,  which  bears  a  strong  re- 
semblance to  the  British  white  ensign,  was  flying  from  most  of  the  i 
forts. 

In  returning  we  passed  several  blockade-runners,  amongst  others 
the  steamer  Kat^*,  with  the  new  double  screw.  These  vessels  are 
painted  the  same  color  as  the  water;  as  many  as  three  or  four 
often  go  in  and  out  with  impunity  during  one  night;  but  tiiey 
never  attempt  it  except  in  cloudy  weatiier.  They  are  very  seldom 
cci()tured,  and  chai'ge  an  enormous  price  for  passengers  and 
fnMg^it.  •  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  tralfic  of  the  private  blockade- 
runners  doesn't  do  more  harm  than  good  to  the  country  by  depre- 
ciating its  currency,  and  they  are  generally  looked  upon  as  regular 
gambling  speculations.  I  have  met  many  persons  who, are  of 
opinion  that  the  trade  ought  to  be-stopi)ed,  except  for  government 
stores  and  articles  necessary  for  the  public  welfare. 

After  we  had  landed.  Captain  Fielden  took  me  on  board  one  of 
the  new  ironclads  which  are  being  built,  and  which  are  supposed 
to  be  a  great  improvement  upon  the  Chicora  and  Palmetto  State; 
these  are  already  afloat,  and  did  good  service  last  February  by  ^ 
issuing  suddenly  forth,  and  driving  away  the  whole  blockading 
squadron  fjr  one  day.  Last  night  these  two  active  little  vessels 
were  out  to  look  after  some  blockaders  which  were-supposed  to 
have  ventureddnnide  the  bar. 

At  5  p.  M.  I  dined  with  General  and  Mrs.  Ripley.  The  dinner 
was  a  very  sumptuous  one,  for  a  "blockade"  dinner,  as  General 
Ripley  called  it.  The  other  guests  were  General  J  or  Jan,  Chief 
of  the  Staff  to  Beauregard  ;  General  Davis,  Mr.  Nutt,  and  Colonel 
Rhett,  of  Fort  Sumter.  The  latter  told  me  that  if  the  ironclads 
had  come  any  closer  than  they  did,  he  should  have  dosed  thena 


95 

with  flat-headed  bolts  out  of  the  smoothbore  guns,  which,  he 
thinks,  could  travel    accurately   enough  for  500   or   600   yards. 

Mrs.  H ■■ —  asked  me  to  an  evening  party,  but  ?he  extreme 

badness  of  my  clothes  compelled  me  to  decline  the  invitation. 

10th  Je<??e,  Wednesday. — I  dined  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H this 

afternoon,  and  after  dinner  they  drove  me  to  the  Battery,  which 
is  the  popular  promenade.     A  great   many  well-dressed  people 
and  a  few  carriages  were  there,  but  the  H — — s  say  it  is  nothing > 
to  what  it  was.     Most  of  the  horses  and  carriages  have  been  seht 

out  of  Charleston  since  the  last  attack.'    Mrs.  H told  me  all 

the  ladies  began  to  move  out  of  Charleston  on  the  morning  after 
the  repulse  of  the  Monitors,  the  impression  being  that  the  serious 
attack  was  about  to  l)egin.  1  talked  to  her  about  the  smart  cos- 
tumes of  the  negro  women  on  Sundays;  she  said  the  only  differ- 
ence between  them  and  their  mistresses  is,  that  a  mulatto  woman 
is  not  allowed  to  wear  a  veil.  ' 

11th' June,  Thursday. — General  Ripley  took  me  in  his  boat  lo 
Morris  Island.  We  passed  Fort  Sumter  on  our  left,  and  got 
aground  for  five  minutes  in  its  imr^iediate  neighborhood  ;  then 
bearing  off  towards  the  right,  we  past  Fort  Cummins  Point,  and 
(after  entering  a  narrow  creek)  Fort  Wagner  on  our  left.  The 
latter  is  a  powerful,  well -constructed  field-work,  mounting  nine 
heavy  guns,  and  it  completely  cuts  across  3Iorris  Island  at  the 
end  nearest  to  Fort  Sumter.  General  Ripley  pointed  at  Fort 
Wagner  with  some  pride. 

We  landed  near  the  house  of  the  Colonel  who  commanded  the 
troops  on  Morris  Island,*  and  borrowed  his  horses  to  ride  to  the 
further  extremity  of  the  island.  We  passed  the  wreck  of  the  Keo- 
kuk, whose  turret  was  just  visible  aijove  the  water,  at  a  distance 
from  the  shore  of  about  1500  yards.  *0n  this  beach  I  also  in- 
spected the  remains  of  the  so-called  "Yankee  Devil,"  aL curious 
construction;  which  on  the  day  of  the  attack  had  been  pushed  into 
the.haibor  by  one  of  the  Monitors.  This  vessel,  with  her  apj)end- 
age,  happened  to  be  the  first  to  receive  the  firt^  of  Fort  Sumter, 
'and  after  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ^lonitor  and  Devil  gut  foul  of  one 
another,  when  both  came  to  grief,  and  the  latter  floated  harmlessly 
ashore.  It,  seems  to  have  been  composed  of  double  twenty-inch 
beams,  forming  a  sort  of  platform  or  stage  fifty  feet  long  by  twenty 
broad,  from  which  depended  chains  with  grappling  irons  to  rake 
up  hostile  torpeaoes.  The  machine  was  also  provided  with  a 
gigantic  torpedo  of  its  own,  which  was  to  blow  up  piles  or  other 
obstacles.  • 

*  This  must  have  been  about  the  spot  from  wheuce  Fort  Sumter  was  after- 
wards bombarded.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  Confederates  made  a 
great  mistake  in  not  fortifying  the  further  end  ol  Morris  Island  and  keep- 
ing a  largex  garrison  there,  for  when  the  Federals  landed,  they  met  with  no 
fortification  until  they  reached  Fort  Wagner. 


96 

Morris  Island  is  a  miserable,  low,  sandy  desert,  and  at  its  fur- 
ther e.xfreiiiiry  there  is  a  range  of  low  sand-hills,  which  form  ad- 
mirahle  natural  parapets.  About  ten  guns  and  mortars  were 
plac(^d  behind  them,  and  two  companies  of  regular  artillery  were 
stationed  at  this  point  under  th:-r  command  of  Captain  Mitchell 
(the  "|)atriot's'*  son),  to  whom  I  was  introduced.  He  seemed  a 
quiet,  unassun)in<r  man,  and  was  spoken  of  by  General  Ripley  as 
an  excellent  ollic^r.  He  told  me  he  expected  to  be  able  to  open 
fire  in  a  day  or  two  upon  the  Yankees 'in  Folly  Island  and  Little 
Folly  ;  and  he  expressed  a  hope  that  a  few  shell  might  drive  them 
out  from  X^iitle  Folly,  which  is  only  distant  600  yards  from  liis 
guns.  The  eliemy's  large  batteries  are  on  Folly  Island,  3400 
yards  off,  but  within  range  of  Captain  Mitchell's  rifled  artillery, 
one  of  which  was  a  twelve-pourid'er  Whitworth.  '' 

A  blockade-runner,  named  the  Ruby,  deceived  by  some  lights 
on  F(dly  Island,  ran  ashore  at  one  o'clock  this  morning  in  the 
narrow  inlet  between  j\Iorris  Island  and  Little  Folly.  The  Yan- 
kees immediately  opened  fire  on  her.  and  her  crew,  despairing  of 
getting  her  off.  st't  her  on  fire — a  foolish  measure,  as  she  was 
right  under  Captain  MitchelTs  giyis — and  whenever  a  group  of 
Y'ankecs  approached  the  wreck,  a  shell  was  placed  in  their  midst, 
which  effectually  checked  their  curiosity.  The  Ruby  was  therefore 
luirning  in  peace.  Her  crew  had  escaped,  all  except  one  man,  who 
was  drowned,  in  trying  to  save  a  valuable  trunk. 

After  having  conversed  some  time  with  Captain  Mitchell  and 
his  brother  officers,  we  took  leave  of  them ;  and  General  Ripley, 
pursuing  his  tour  of  inspection,,  took  me  up  some  of  the  numerous 
creeks  which  intersect  the  low  marshy  land  of  James  Island.  In 
one  of  these  I  saw  the  shattered  remains  of  the  sham  Keokuk, 
which  was  a  wooden  imitation  of  its  equally  short-lived  original, 
and  had  been  used  as  a  floating  target  by  the  different  forts. 

In  passmg  Fort  Sumter,  I  observed  that  the  eastern  face,  from 
which  the  guns  (exciept  those  en  barbette)  had  been  removed,  was' 
being  further  strengthened  by  a  facing  of  twelve  feet  of  sand, 
supported  by  logs  of  wood.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Sumter 
could  be  destroyed,  if  a  vessigl  could  be  found  impei'vious  enough 
to  lie  pretty  close  in  and  batter  it  for  five  hours;  but  with  its 
heavy  armament  and  plunging  fire,  this  catastrophe  was  not  deem- 
ed probable.  General  Ripley  told  me  that,  in^his  opinion,  the 
proper  manner  to  attack  Charleston,  was  to  land  on  Morris  Island, 
take  Forts  Wagner  and^Cummings  Point,  and  then  turn  their 
guns  on  Fort  Summer.  lie  does  not  think  much  of  the  l?5-inch 
guns.  The  enen4*  does  not  dare  use  more  than  35  lb.  of  powder 
to  propel  425  lb.  of  iron  ;  the  velocity  consequently  is  very  trifling. 
He  knows  and  admires  the  British  68-pounder,  weighing  95  cwt., 
but  he  does  not  think  it  heavy  enough  effectually  to  desti'oy  iron- 


97 

clads.      He  considers  the  11-inch  gun,  throwing  a  shot  of  170 
lb.,  as  the  most  efficient  for  that  purpose. 

In  returning  from  Morris  Island,  we  passed  two  steamers,  which 
had  successfully  run  the  blockade  last  night,  besides  the  luckless 
Euby,  which  had  also  passed  the  blockading  squadron  before  she 
came  to  grief.  The  names  of  the  other  two  are  the  Anaconda  and 
Racoon,  both  fine-looking  vessels. 

I  dined  at  Mr.  Robertson's,  at  the  corner  of  Rutledge-street, 
and  met  Captain  Tucker  of  the  navy  there.  .He  is  a  very  good 
fellow,  and  a  perfect  gentleman.  He  commands  the  Chicora 
gunboat,  and  it  was  he  who,  with  his  own  and  another  gun- 
boat (Palmetto  State),  crossed  the  bar  last  February,  and  rais-  , 
ed  the  blockade  for  a  few  hours.  He  told  me  that  several  Yan- 
kee blockaders  surrendered,  but  could  not  be  taken  possession  of, 
and  the  others  bolted  at  such  a  pace  as  to  render  pursuit  hope- 
less, for  these  little  gunboats  are  very  slow.  They  made  the 
attack  at  daylight,  and  though  much  fired  at  were  never  struck. 
They  seem  to. have  taken  the  Yankees  by  surprise,  and  to  have 
created  great  alarm  ;  but  at  that  time  the  blockading  squadron 
consisted  entirely  of  improvised  men-of-war.  Since  this  exploit, 
the  frigate  Ironsides,  and  sloop  of  war  Powhatan,  have  been  added 
to  its  strength. 

It  poured  with  rain  during  the  evening,  and  we  had  a  violent 
thunderstorm.  General  Beauregard  returned  to  Charleston  this 
afternoon. 

\2th  June,  Friday. — I  called  at  an  exchange  office  this  morning, 
and  asked  the  value  of  gold  ;  they  offered  me  six  to  one  for  it.  I 
went  to  a  slave  auction  at  11 ;  but  they  had  been  so  quick  about 
it  that  the  whole  affair  was  over  before  I  arrived,  although  I  was 
only  ten  minutes  late.  The  negroes — about  fifteen  men,  three 
women,  and  three  children — were  seated  on  benches,  looking 
perfectly  contented  and  indifferent.  I  saw  the  buyers  opening 
the  mouths  and  showing  the  teeth  of  their  new  purchases  to  their 
friends  in  a  very  business-like  manner.  This  was  certainly  not  a 
very  agreeable  spectacle  to  an  Englishman,  and  I  know  that  many 
Southerners  participate  in  the  same  feeling;  for  I  have  often  been 
told  by  people  that  they  had  never  seen  a  negro  sold  by  auction, 
and  never  wished  to  do  so.  It  is  impossible  to  mention  names  in 
connection  with  such  a  subject,  but  I  am  perfectly  aware  that 
many  influential  men  in  the  South  feel  humiliated  and  annoyed 
with  several  of  the  incidents  connected  with  slavery;  and  I  think 
that  if  the  Confederate  States  were  left  alone,  the  system  would 
be  much  inodified  and  amended,  although  complete  emancipation 
cannot  be  expected ;  for  the  Southerners  believe  it  to  be  as  im- 
practicable to  cultivate  cotton  on  a  large  scale  in  the  South,  with- 
out forced  black  labor,  as  the  British  have  found  it  to  produce  , 
7 


98 

sugar  in  Jamaica ;  and  they  declare  that  the  example  the  English 
have  set  them  of  sudden  emancipation  in  that  island  is  by  no  means 
encouraging.  They  say  that  that  magnificent  colony,  formerly 
80  wealthy  and  prosperous,  is  now  nearly  valueless — the  land 
going  out  of  cultivation — the  Whites  ruined — the  Blacks  idle, 
slothful,  andNsupposed  to  bo  in  a  great  measure  relapsing  into  their 
primitive  barbarism. 

At  twelve  o'clock  I  called  by  appointment  on  Captain  Tucker, 
on  board  the  Chicora.*  The  accommodation  below  is  good,  con- 
sidering the  nature  and  peculiar  shape  of  the  vessel;  but  in  hut 
weather  the  tjnarteis  are  very  close  and  unhealthy,  for  which  rea- 
son she  is  moored,  alongside  a  wharf,  on  which  her  crew  live. 
Captain  Tucker  expressed  great  confidence  in  his  vessel  during 
calm  weather,  and  when  not  exposed  to  a  plunging  fire.  He  said 
he  should  not  hesitate  to  attack  even  the  present  blockading 
squadron,  if  it  were  not  for  certain  reasons  which  he  explained 
to  me. 

Captain  Tucker  expects  great  results  from  certain  newly-invent- 
ed submarine  inventions,  which  he  thinks  are  sure  to  succeed. 
He  told  me  that,  in  the  April  attack,  these  two  gunboats  were 
placed  in  the  rear  of  Fort  Sumter,  and  if,  as  was  anticipated,  the 
Monitors  had  managed  to  force  their  way  past  Sumter,  they  would 
have  been  received  from  different  directions  by  the  powerful  bat- 
tery Bee  on  Sullivan's  Island,  by  this  island.  Forts  Pinckney  and 
Ripley,  by  the  two  gunboats,  and  by  Fort  Johnson  on  James 
Island — a  nest  of  hornets  from  which  perhaps  they  would  never 
have  returned. 

At  1  p.  M.  I  called  on  General  Beauregard,  who  is  a  man  of 
middle  height,  about  forty-seven  years  of  age.  He  would  be  Tcry 
youthful  in  appearance  were  it  not  for  the  color  of  his  hair,  which 
is  much  grayer  than  his  earlier  photographs  represent.  Some  per- 
sons account  for  the  sudden  manner  in  which  his  hair  turned  grey 
by  allusions  to  his  cares  and  anxieties  during  the  last  two  years; 
but  the  real  and  less  romantic  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  rigidity 
of  the  Yankee  blockade,  which  interrups  the  arrival  of  articles  of 
toilet.  He  has  a  long  straight  nose,  handsome  brown  eyes,  anB  a 
dark  mustache  without  whiskers,  and  his  manners  are  extremely 
polite.  He  is  a  New  Orleans  Creole,  and  French  is  his  native 
language. 

He  was  extremely  civil  to  me,  and  arranged  that  I  should  see 
some  of  the  land  fortifications  to-morrow.  He  spoke  to  me  of  the 
inevitable  necessity,  sooner  or  later,  of  a  war  between  the  North- 
ern Slates  and  Great  Britain  ;  and  he  remarked  that,  if  England 
would  join  the  South  at  once,  the  Southern  armies  relieved  of  the 

*  I  bare  omitted  a  descriptioQ  of  this  little  gunboat,  as  the  is  still  doing 
ge«d  seiriea  in  Charleston  harbor.— ]^OTember,  1863. 


99 

present  blockade  and  enormous  Yankee  pressure,  would  be  able  to 
march  ri^ht  into  the  Northern  States,  and  by  occupying  their  prin- 
cipal cities,  would  give  the  Yankees  so  much  employment  that  they 
would  he  unable  to  spare  many  men  for  Canada.  He  acknowl- 
edged that  in  Mississippi  General  Grant  had  displayed  uncommon 
vigor  apd  met  with  considerable  success,  considering  that  he  was 
a  man  of  no  great  military  capacity.  He  said  that  Johnston  was 
certainly  acting  slowly  and  with  mucb  caution ;  but  then  he  had 
not  the  veteran  troops  of  Bragg  or  Lee.  He  told  me  that  he 
(Beauregard)  had  organized  both  the  Virginia  and  Tennessee  ar- 
mies. Both  are  composed  of  the  same  materials,  both  have  seen 
much  service,  though,  on  the  ^is^hole,  the  first  had  been  the  most 
sieverely  tried.  He  said  that  in  the  Confederate  organization  a 
brigade  is  composed  of  four  regi  :  ents,  a  division  ought  to  num- 
ber 10  000  men,  and  a  corpa  d'armee  40.000.  But  I  know  that 
neither  Polk  nor  Hardee  have  got  any  thing  like  that  number.* 

At  5.30  p.  M.  the  firing  on  Morris  Island  became  distinctly  au- 
dible. Captain  Mitchell  had  evidently  commenced  his  operations 
against  Little  Folly. 

While  I  was  walking  on  the  battery  this  evening,  a  gentleman 
came  up  to  me  and  recalled  himself  to  my  recollection  as  Mr. 
Meyers  of  the  Sumter,  whom  I  had  known  at  Gibraltar  a  year 
ago.  This  was  one  of  the  two  persons  who  were  arrested 'at  Tan- 
gier by  the  acting  United  States  consul  in  such  an  ontrageous 
manner.  He  told  me  that  he  had  been  kept  in  irons  during  his 
whole  voyage,  in  the  merchant  vessel  to  the  United  States;  and 
in  spite  of  the  total  illegality  of  his  capture  on  neutral  ground, 
he  was  imprisoned  for  four  months  in  Fort  Warren,  and  not  re- 
leased until  regularly  exchanged  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Mr.  Mey- 
ers was  now  most  anxious  to  rejoin  Captain  Semmes,  or  some 
other  rover. 

I  understand  that  when  the  attack  took  place  in  April,  the  gar- 
rison of  Fort  Sumter  received  the  Monitors  with  great  courtesy 
as  they  steamed  up.  The  three  flagstaffs  were  dressed  with  flags, 
the  band  fi'om  the  top  of  the  fort  played  1he  national  airs,  and  a 
salute  of  twenty-one  guns  was  fired,  after  which  the  entertain- 
ment provided  was  of  a  more  solid  description. 

13^A  June,  Saturday. — .Colonel  Rice,  aid-de-camp  to  General 
Beauregard,  rode  with  me  to  "  Sec'essionville"  this  morning.  I 
was  mounted  on  the  horse  which  the  General  rode  at  Manassas 
and  Shiloh.  We  reached  James'  Upland  by  crossing  the  long 
wooden  bridge  which  spans  the  river  Ashley;  The  land  of  James' 
Island  is  low  and  marshy,  and  is  both  by  repute  and  in  appearance 
most   unhealthy.      Three   years  ago  no  white  man. would  have 

/  *  A  division  does  nearly  always  number  10,000  men,  but  then  there  are 
generally  only  two  or  three  division*  in  a  corps  iVaTmie. 


100 

dreamed  of  occupying  it  at'  this  time  of  year ;  bu-t  now  that  the 
necessity  has  arisen,  the  troops,  curiously  enough,  do  not  appear 
to  suffer. 

"  Secessionville,"  the  most  advanced  and  most  important  of  the 
James"  Island  forfifications.  is  distant  by  road  eight  miles  from 
Charleston  bridfre,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  chain  of  forts. 
It  was  surprised  by  the, enemy  just  a  year  ago,  (Jime,  1862,)  and 
was  the  scene  of  a  desperate  confli»;t,  which  resulted  in  tlie  repulse 
of  the  Federals  with  a  loss  of  nearly  800  men.  The  Confeder- 
ates lost  150*men  on  this  occasion,  which  as  vet  has  been  the  only 
serious  loss  of  life  at  Charleston  during  the  war.  Colonel  La- 
mar, who  commanded  the  garrison  with  great  gallantry,  was  one 
of  the  few  victims  to  yellow  fever  last  year.  The  Yanlxees  at- 
tacked the  fort  three  times  with  much  bravery  and  determination, 
and  actually  reached  the  superior  slope  of  the  parapet  before  they 
were  driven  back.  They  were  within  an  ace  of  being  successful  ; 
and  although  they  deserved  great  credit  for  their  behavior  on  that 
occasion,  yet  it  is  understood  that  the  ofUcer  who  organized  the 
attack  has  either  been  dismissed  the  service  Or  otherwise  punished. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  Brown,  the  commandant,  who  showed  me 
over  the   fort  and  bomb-proofs,  is  quite  young,  full  of  zeal,  and 

most  anxious  to  be  attacked;  he  has  artillerymen  toman 

this  cind  the  neighboring  works,  and  two  regiments  of  infantry  are 
also  encamped  within  a  short  distance. 

At  the  time  of  the  attack  on  Charleston  last  April,  there  were 
30,000  men  to  defend  it;  since  that  time  20,000  had  been  sent/ 
into  Mississippi  to  reinforce  Johnston.  I  imagine  that,  as  the  for- 
tifications are  so  very  extensive,  the  Charleston  garrison  ought  to 
consist  of  at  least  30,000  men. 

lith  June,  Sunday. — I  went  to  church  at  iSt.  ^lichael's,  which 
i^one  of  the  oldest  churchesin  America,  and  is  supposed  to  have 
been  built  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  The  Charlestonians  are 
very  proud  of  it,  and  I  saw  several  monuments  of  the  time  of  the 
British  dominion.  • 

This  morning  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  Mr  Sennec,  an  offi- 
cer in  the  Confederate  States  navy,  who,  with  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter, were  about  to  face  the  terrors  and  dangers  of  running  the 
blockade,  Mr.  Sennec  having  got  an  aj)pointment  in  Europe.  The 
ladies  told  me  theythad  already  nuide  one  start,  but  after  reaching 
the  bar,  the  night  was  not  considered  propitious,  so  they  had  re-' 
turned.  Mr.  Sennecjs  thinking  of  going  fo  Wilmington,  and  run- 
ning from  thence,  as  it  is  more  secure  than  Charleston. 

I  dined  at  Mr.  Robertson's  this  evening,  and  met  a  very  agree- 
able party  there,  viz:  two  young  ladies,  who  were  extremely  pretty, 
General  Beauregard,  Captain  Tucker,  of  the  Chicora,  and  Major 


101 

Norris,  the  chief  of  the  secret  intelligence  beaureau  at  Richmond. 

I  had  a  long  conversation  with  General  Beauregard,  who  said 
he  considered  tlie  question  of  iron  clads  versus  forts  as  settled, 
especially  when  the  fire  from  the  latter  is  plundn^.  If  the  other 
]\Ionitors  had  approached  as  close  as  the  Keokuk,  they  would 
probably  have  shared  her  fate.  He  thought  that  both  flat-headed 
rifled  7-ineh  bolts  and  solid  10-inch  balls  penetrated  the  iron  clads 
when  within  1200  yards.  He  agreed  with  General  Ripley  that  the 
15-if)ch  gun  is  rather  a  failure  ;  it  is  so  unwieldly  that  it  can  only  be 
fired  very  slowly,  and  the  velocity  of  the  ball  is  so  small  that  it  is 
very  difficult  to  strike  a  moving  object.  He  told  me  that  Fort 
Sumter  was  to' be  covered  by  degrees  with  the  long  green  moss 
which  in  this  country  hangs  down  from  the  trees ;  he  thinks  that 
when  this  is  pressed  it  will  deaden  the  effect  of  the  shot  without 
being  inflammable  ;  and  he  also  said  that,  even  if  the  walls  of  Fort 
Sumter  were  battered  down,  the  barbette  battery  would  still  re- 
main, supported  on  the  piers. 

The  Federal  frigate  Ironsides  took  up  her  position,  during  the 
attack,  over  3000  pounds  of  powder,  which  was  prevented  from 
explodiuiT  owing  to  some  misfortune  connected  with  the  communi- 
cating wire.  General  Beauregard  and  Captain  Tucker  both  seemed 
to  expect  great  things  from  a  newly  invented  and  extra-diabolical 
torpedo-ram. 

After  dinner,  IMajor  Norris  showed  us  a  copy  of  a  New  York 
illustrated  newspaper  of  the  same  character  as  our  "  Punch.''  In 
it  the  President  Davis  and  General  Beauregard  were  depicted 
shoeless  and  in  rags,  contemplating  a  pair  of  boots,  which  the 
latter  suggested  had  better  be  eaten.  This  caricature  excited  con- 
siderable amusement,  especially  when  its  merits  were  discussed 
after  Mr.  Robertson's  excellent  dinner.  General  Beauregard  told 
me  he  had  been  educated  in. the  North,  and  used  to  have  many 
friends  there,  but  that  noio  he  would  sooner  submit  to  the  P^mpe- 
ror  of  China  than  return  to  the  Union. 

Mr.  Walter  Blake  arrived  soon  after  dinner;  he  had  come  up 
fr(^m  his  plantation  on  the  Combahee  river  on  purpose  to  see  me. 
He  described  the  results  of  the  late  Yankee  raid  up  that  river; 
.  forty  armed  negroes  and  a  few  whites  in  a  miserable  steamer  were 
able  to  destroy  and  burn  an  incalculable  amount  of  property,  and 
carry  off  hundreds  of  negroes.  Mr.  Blake  got  off  very  cheap, 
having  only  lost  twenty-four  this  time,  but  he  only  saved  the  re- 
main^ler  by  his  own  personal  exertions  and  determination.  He 
had  now  sent  all  his  young  males  two  hundred  mi'es  into  the  in- 
terior for  greater  safety:  He  seemed  to  have  a  very  rough  time  of 
it,  livMig  all  alone  in  that  •pestilential  climate,.  A  neighboring 
planter,  Mr.  Lowndes,  had  lost  290  negroes,  and  a  Mr.  Kirkland' 
was  totally  ruined. 


102 

At  7  p.'  M.  Mr.  Blake  and  I  called  at  the  office  of  General  Rip- 
ley, to  whom  Mr.  Blake,  notwithstanding  that  he  is  an  English- 
man of  nearly  sixty  years  of  age,  had  served  as  aid-de-camp  dur- 
ing some  of  the  former  oj^erations  against  Charleston.  General 
Ripley  told  us  that  >hVlling  was  still  going  on  vigorously  between 
iloriis  and  Folly  Islands,  the  Yankees  heing  assisted  every  now 
and  then  by  one  or  more  of  their  gunboats.  The  General  ex- 
plained to  us  that  these  light  draft  armed  vessels — riccr-gropers, 
as  he  called  them — were  indefatigable  at  pushing  up  the  numer- 
ous creeks,  burning  and  devastating  every  thing.  He  said  that 
when  he  became  acquainted  with  the  habits  of  one  of  these  "crit-" 
turs,^'  he  arranged  an  andiuscade  for  her,  and  with. the  assistance 
of  "  his  fancy  Irishman"  (Captain  ^litchell)  he  captured  her. — 
This  was  the  case  with  the  steamer  Stono,  a  short  time  since, 
which,  having  been  caught  in  this  manner  by  the  army,  was  lost 
by  the  navy  shortly  afterwards  oflf  Sullivan's  island. 

News  has  just  been  received  that  Coinmodore  Foote  is  to  suc- 
ceed Dupont  in  the  command  of  the  blockading  squadron.  Most 
of  these  officers  ai)peared  to  rejoice  in  this  change,  as  they  say 
Foote  is  younger,  and  likely  to  show  more  sport  than  the  venerable 
Do  pout., 

15th  June,  Monday. — I  called  On  General  Beauregard  to  say 
good-by.  Before  jjarting,  he  told  me  that  his  official  orders,  both 
from  the  Government  and  from  the  town  council  were,  that  he  was 
to  allow  Charleston  to  be  laid  in  ashes  sooner  than  surrender  it; 
the  Confederates  being,  unanimous  in  their  determination,  that 
whatever  ha|)pened,  the  capital  of  South  Carolina  should  never 
have  to  submit  to  the  fate  of  New  Orleans,  But  General  Beaure- 
gard did  not  at  all  anticipate  that  such  an  alternative  was  immi-, 
nent.  In  answer  to  my  thanks  for  his  kindness  and  courtesy,  he 
said  the  t  the  more  Europeans  that  came  to  the  South,  the  more 
the  Southerners  were  pleased,  as  seeing  was  the  only  way  to  re- 
move many  prejudices.  lie  declared  every  thing  here  was  open 
and  above  hoard,  and  I  really  believe  this  is  the  case.  Most  cer- 
tainly the  civil  law  is  not  overruled  by  the  military,  except  in 
cases  of  the  strongest  emergency.  The  press  is  allowed  the  most 
unlin)ited  freedom,  and  even  license.  Whenever  excesses  take 
place,  and  the  law  is  violated,  this  is  caused  by  the  violence  of  the 
people  themselves,  who  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands.  Gen- 
eral Beauregard  sent  his  love  to  Sir  James  Ferguson,  who  had 
visited  him  during  the  early  part  of  the  war;  so  also  did  General 
Jordan,  chief  of  the  stall". 

•  Before  taking  my  departure  from  the  hotel,  I  was  much  grati- 
fied by  meeting  M'Carthy,  who  had  just  returned  from  Richmond. 
He  had  had  the  good  fortune  to  cross  the  Mississippi  a  little  later 
than  me,  and  he  had  encountered  comparatively  few  obstacles. 


103 

I  left  Charleston  by  rail  at  2  p.  m.,  in  company  with  Mr.  Sennec, 
his  wife  and  daughter;  and  Major  Norris,  who  was  extremely 
kind  and  useful  to  me.  I  declined  traveling  in  the  ladies'  car, 
a't hough  offered  that  privilege — the  advantage  of  a  small  amount 
of  extra  cleanliness  being  outweighed  by  the  screaming  of  the 
children,  and  the  constant  liability  of  being  turned  out  of  one's 
place  for  a  female. 

Major  Norris  told  me  many  amusing  anecdotes  connected  with 
the  secret  intelligence  dtvJDartment,  and  of  the  numerous  ingenious  ' 
methods  for  communicating  with  the   Southern  partisans  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Potomac. 

We  reached  Flounce  at  9  p.  m.,  where  we  were"  detained  for 
some  time  owing  to  a  break-down  of  another  train.  We  then 
fought  our  way  into  some  desperately  crowded  cars,  and  continued 
our  journey  throughout  the  night. 

16tk  June,  Tuesday. — Arrived  at  Wilmington  at  5  a.  m.,  and 
crossed  the  river  therein  a  steamer.  This  river  was  quite  full  of 
blockade  runners.  I  counted  eight  large  steamers,  all  handsome 
leaden-colored  vessels,  whicli  ply  their  trade  with  the  greatest 
regularity.  Half  these  ships  were  engaged  in  carrying  goods  on 
Government  account;  and  I  was  told  that  the  quantity  of  boots, 
clothing,  saltpetre,  lead  and  tin,  whicli  they  bring  into  the  country, 
is  very  great.  I  cannot  suppose  that  in  ordinary  times  there 
would  be  any  thing  like  such  a  trade  as  this,  at  a  little  place  like 
Wilmington,  which  shows  the  absurdity  of  calling  the  blockade 
an  efficient  one. 

This  blockade  running  is  an  extraordinary  instance  of  British 
energy  and  enterprise. .  When  I  was  at  Charleston,  I  asked  Mr. 
Robertson  whether  any  French  vessels  had  run  the  blockade.  In 
reply  he  told  me  it  was  a  very  peculiar  fact  that  "  one  of  the 
partners  of  Fraser  &  Co.  being  a  Frenchman,  was  extremely  anx- 
ious to  engage  a  French  vessel  in  the  trade.  Expense  was  no  ob- 
ject ;  the  ship  and  the  cargo  were  forthcoming ;  nothing  ws^s 
wanted  but  a  French  captain  and  a  French  crew  (to  make  the  ship 
legally  French ;)  but  although  any  amount  of  money  was  offered 
as  an  inducement,  they  were  not  to  be  found,  and  this  obstacle 
was  insurmountable."  Not  the  slightest  difficulty  is  experienced 
at  Liverpool  in  officering  and  manning  any  number  of  ships  for 
this  purpose.  ' 

Major  Norris  went  to  call  upon  Mr.  Vallandigham,  whom  he  had 
escorted  to  Wilmington  as  a  sort  of  semi-prisonef  some  days  ago. 
Mr.  Vallandigham  was  in  bed.  He  told  Major  Norris  that  he  in- 
tended to  run  the  blockade  this  evening  for  Bermuda,  from  whence 
he  should  find  his  way  to  the  Clifton  Hotel,  Canada,  where  he  in- 
tended to  publish  a  newspaper,  and  agitate  Ohio  across  the  fron- 
tier.    Major  Norris   found  him  much  elated  by  the  news  of  his 


104 

having  been  nominated  for  the  governorship  of  Ohio;  and  he  de- 
clared if  he  was  duly  elected,  his  State  could  dictate  peace. 

In  traveling  through  the  country  to  AVilmington,  these  two 
used  to  converse  much  on  politics;  and  M;gor  Norris  once  said  to 
him,  "Now,  from  what  you  have  seen  and  heard  in  your  journey 
through  the  South,  you  must  know  that  a  reconstruction  of  the 
old  Union,  under  any  circumstances,  is  utterly  inipossihle."  Val- 
landigham  had  replied,  "  Well,  all  I  can  say  is,  1  hope,  and  at  all 
events  1  knbw,  tliat  my  scheme  of  a  suspension  of  hostiliiies  is 
the  only  one  which  has  any  prospect  of  ultimate  success.'"* 

At  Wilmington  I  took  leave  with  regret  of  ^Ir.Sennec  and  his 
family,  who  were  also  to  run  the  blockade  ihis  evening.  3Iiss 
Sepnec  is  much  too  pretty  to  risk  a  collision  with  a  fragment  of  a 
shell ;  but  here  no  one  seems  to  think  any  thing  of  the  risk  of 
passing  through  the  Yankee  fleet,  as  the  "  rimners,"  though  often 
fired  at,  are  very  s-ldom  hit  or  captured,  and  their  captains  are 
becoming  more  and  more  knowing  every  day.  I  was  obliged  to 
go  to  the  Provost  Marshal's  office  to  g(4.  Beauregard's  pass  re- 
newed there,  as  North  Carolina  is  out  of  his  district;  in  doing  so 
I  very  nearly  missed  the  train. 

I  left  Wilmington  at  7  a.  j\i.  The  weather  was  very  hot  and 
oppressive,  and  the  cars  dreadfully  crowded  all  day.  The  luxu- 
ries of  Charleston  had  also  spoiled  me  for  the  "  road,"  as  1  could 
no  longer  appreciate  at  their  proper  value  the  "  hog  and  hominy" 
meals  which  I  had  been  so  thankful  for  in  Texas  ;  but  I  found 
Major  Norris  a  very  agreeable  and  instructive  companion.  We 
changed  cars  again  at  Weldon,  whe^-e  I  had  a  terrific  fight  for  a 
seat,  but  I  succeeded  ;  for  experience  had  made  me  very  quick  at 
this  sort  of  business.  I  always  carry  my  saddlebags  and  knap- 
sack with  me  into  the  car. 

Vith  June,  Wednesday. — We  reached  Petersburg  at  3  a.  m., 
and  had  to  get  out  and  traverse  this  town  in  carts,  after  which  we 
had  tc  lie  down  in  the  road  until  some  other  cars  were  opened. 
We  left  Petersl)urg  at  5  a.  m.  and  arrived  at  Richmond  at  7  a.  m., 
having  taken  forty-one  hours  coming  from  Charleston. 

The  railroad  between  Petersburg  and  Richmond  is  protected  by 
extensive  field  works,  and  the  woods  have  been  cut  down  to  give 
range.  An  irruption  of  the  enemy  in  this  direction  has  evidently 
been  contemplated;  and  we  met  a  brigade  of  infantry  half-way 
between  Petersburg  and  Richmond  on  its  way  to  garrison  the  lat- 
ter place,  as  the  Yankees  are  reported  to.  be  menacing  in  that 
Deighborhood. 

*  I  have  often  heard  Southerners  speak  of  this  proposalof  Vallandigham  s 
as  mosi  insidious  and  dangerous;  but  the  opinion  now"  is  that  things  have 
gone  too  far  to  permit  reunion  under  any  circumstauces. 


105 

The  scenery  near  Richmond  is  very  pretty,  and  rather  Knjrlish- 
looking.  The  view  of  the  James  river  from  the  railway  bridge  is 
quite  beautiful,  though  the  water  is  rather  low  at  present.  The 
weather  was  extremely  hot  and  oppressive,  and,  for  the  first  time 
since  I  left  Havana,  1  really  suffered  from  the  heat. 

At  10  A.  M.,  I  called  on  General  Cooper,  Adjutant  General  to 
the  Confederate  forces,  and  Senior  General  in  the  army.  He  is 
brother-in-law  to  ]\Ir.  Mason,  the  Soul  hern  Commissioner  in  Lon- 
don. I  then  called  upon  Mr.  Benjamin,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
who  made  an  appointment  with  me  to  meet  him  at  his  house  at  7 
^p.  M.  'J'he  public  offices  are  handsouie  stone  buildings,  and  keem 
to  be  well  arranged  for  business.  1  found  at  least  as  mueh 'diffi- 
culty in  gaining  access  to  the  great  men  as  there  would  l>e  in  Ku- 
ropean  countries;  but  when  once  admitted,  I  was  treated  with  the 
greatest  courtesy.  The  anterooms  were  crowded  with  people  pa- 
tiently waiting  for  an  audience.  The  streets  of  Richjiiond  are 
nauied  and  numbered  in  a  most  puzzling  manner,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  houses  are  not  numbered  at  all.  It  is  the  most  hilly 
city  I  have  ever  seen  in  America,  and  its  population  is  unnatural- 
ly swollen  since  the  commencement  of  the  war.  ,Tht^  fact  of  there 
being  abundance  of  ice  appeared  tome  an  immense  luxury,  as  1 
had  never  seen  any  before  in  the  South  ;  but  it  seems  tlrat  the 
winters  are  cjnite  severe  in  Northern  Virginia.  I  was  sorry  to 
hear  in  the  highest  quarters  the  gloomiest  forebodings  with  regard 
to  the  fate  of  Vicksburg.  This  fortress  is  in  fact  given  «//y,  and  all 
now  despair  of  General  Johnston's  being  able  to  effect  any  thing 
towards  its  relief.  • 

I  kept  my  appointment  with  Mr.  Benjamin  at  7  o'clock.  He  is 
a^stout  dapper  little  man,  evidently  of  Hebrew  extraction,  and  of 
undoubted  talent!  He  is  a  Louisianian,  and  was  Senator  for  that 
State  in  the  old  United  States  Congress,  and  I  believe  he  is  ac- 
counted a  very  clever  lawyer  and  a  brilliant  orator.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  tilled  the  onerous  post  of  Secretary  of  War  during 
the  first  seven  months  of  the  secession,  and  I  can  easily  believe 
that  he  found  it  no  sinecure.  We  conversed  for  a  long  time  about 
the  origiiji  of  Secession,  which  he  in'dignantly  denied  was  brought 
about,  as  the  Yankees  assert,  by  the  interested  machinaticms  of  in-, 
dividuals.  'He  declared  that,  for  the  last  ten  years,  the  Southern 
stat-esmen  had  openly  stated  in  Congress  what  would  take  place; 
but  the  Northerners  never  would  believe  they  were  in  earnest,  and 
had  often  replied  by  the  taunt,  "  The  South  was  so  boimd  to,  and 
dependent  on  the  North,  that  she  couldnt  be  kicked  out  of  the 
U/iion.'* 

He  said  that  the  Southern  armies  had  always  been  immensely 
outnumbered  in  all  their  battles,  and  that  until  recently  General 
Lee  could  never'muster  more  than  60,000  effective  men.     He  con- 


106 

fessedtliat  the  Southern  forces  consij^ted  altogether  of  about  350,- 
000  to  400,000  men ;  and  when  I  asked  him  where  they  all  were, 
he  replied  that,  on  account  of  ihe  enormous  tract  of  country  to 
.be  defended,  and  the  immense  advantages  the  enemy  possessed  by 
his  facilities  for  sea  and  river  transportation,  the  South  was  oblijted 
to  keep  large  bodies  of  men  unemployed,  and  at  great  distances 
from  each  other,  awaiting  the  sudden  invasions  or  raids  to  which 
they  "were'continuaily  exposed.  Besides  which,  the  Nortliern 
troops,  which  numliered  (he  supposed)  600,000  men,  having  had 
as  yet  but  little  defensive  -warfare,  could  all  be  employed  for  ag- 
gressive purposes. 

lie  asserted  that  England  had  still,  and  always  had  had  it  in 
her  power  to  terminate  t  lie  war  by  recogniton,  and  by  making  a 
commercial  treaty  with  the  South;  and  he  denied  that  the  Yankees 
really  would  dare  to  go  to  war  with  Great  Britain  for  doing  so, 
however  much  they  might  swagger  about,  it;  he  said  that  recog- 
nition would  not  increase  the  Yankee  hatred  of  England,  for  this, 
whether  just  or  unjust,  was  already  as  intense  as  it  could  possibly 
be.  I  then  alluded  to  the  supposed  ease  with  which  they.,  could 
overrun  Canada,  and  to  the  temptation  which  its  unprotectecftowns 
must  otfer  to  the  large  numbers  of  Irish  and  German  mercenaries  in 
the  .Northern  armies.  He  answered,  "  They  probably  could  not 
do  that  so  easily  as  sotiie  people  suppose,  and  they  know  perfectly 
well  that  you  could  deprive  them  of  California  (afar  more  serious 
loss)  with  much  greater  ease."  This  consideration,  together  with 
the  certainty  of  an  entire  blockade  of  their  ports,  the  total  destruc- 
tion of  their  trade,  and  an  invasion  on  a  large  scale  by, the  Southern 
tro«*i)s,  in  reality  prevents  the  possibility  of  their  declaring  war 
upon  England  at  the  present  time,  any  more  tlian  they  did  at  the 
period  of  their  gneat  national  humi.iatiou  in  the  Masou-Slidell 
affair. 

Llr  Benjamin  told  me  that  his  property  had  lately  been  confis- 
cated in  New  Orleans,  and  that  his  two  sister^s  had  been  turned, 
neck  and  crop,  into  the  streets  there,  with  only  one  trunk,  which 
they  had  been  forced  to  carry  themselves.  Every  one  was  afraid 
to  give  them  shelter,  except  an  Englishwoman,  who  protected  them 
until  they  could  get  out  of  the  city. 

Talking  of  the  just  admiration  which  the  English  newspapers 
accorded  to  Stonewall  Jackson,  he  expressed,  however,  his  aston- 
ishment that  they  should  have  praised  so  highly  his  strategic  skill 
in  out-manoeuvring  Pope  at  Manassas,  and  Hooker  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  totally  ignoring  \\At  in  both  cases  the  movements  were  plan-, 
ned  and  ordered  by  Geueral  Lee,  for  whom  (Mr.  Benjamin  said) 
Jackson  had  the  most  "childlike  reverence." 

Mr.  Benjamin  complained  of  Mr.  Russell  of  the  "Times"  for 
holding  him  up  to  fame  as  a  "gambler"— a  story  which  he  under- 


107 

stood  Mr.  Rassell  had  learnt  from  Mr.  Charles  Sumner  at  Wash- 
intrton.  But  even  supirosing  that  this  was  really  the  case,  Mr. 
Benjamin  was  of  opinion  that  such  a  revelation  of  his  private  life 
was  in  extremely  had  taste,  after  Mr.  Russell  had  partaken  of  his 
(Mr.  Benjamin's)  hospitality  at  Montgomery. 

He  said  the  Confederates  were  more  amused  than  annoyed  at 
the  term  "rehel,"  which  was  so  constantly  applied  to  them;  hut 
he  only  wished  mildly  to  remark,  that  in  order  to  be  a  "rebel, '  a 
person  must  rebel  against  some  one  who  has  a  right  to  govern 
him  ;  and  he  thought  it  would  be  very  difficu  t  to  discover  such  a 
right  as  existing  in  the  Northern  over  the  Southern  States. 

In  order  to  prepare  a  treaty  of  peace,  he  said,  "  It  would  only  be 
necessary  fo  write  on  a  blank  sheet  of  paper  the  words  '  self-gov- 
ernment' Let  the  Yankees  accord  that,  and  they  might  till  up 
the  paper  in  any  manner  they  chose.  We  don't  want  any  Stale 
that  doesn't  want  us ;  but  we  only  wish  that  each  State  should 
decide  fairly  upon  its  own  destiny.  All  we  are  struggling  for  is 
to  be  let  alone." 

At  8  p.  M.  Mr.  Benjamin  walked  with  me  to  the  President's 
dwelling,  which  is  a  private  house  at  the  other  end  of  the  town. 
I  had  tea  there,  and  uncommonly  good  tea,  too — the  first  I  had 
tasted  in  the  Confederacy.  Mrs.  Davis  was  unfortunately  unwell 
and  unable  to  see  me. 

.  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  struck  me  as  looking  older  than  I  expected. 
He  is  only  fifty-six,  but  his  face  is  emaciated,  and  much  wrinkled. 
He  is  nearly  six  feet  high,  but  is  extremely  thin,  and  stoops  a  lit- 
tle. His  features  are  good,  especially  his  eye,  which  is  very  i»right, 
and  full  of  life  and  humor.  I  was  afterwards  told  he  had  lost  the 
sight  of  his  left  eye  from  a  recent  i.lness.  He  wore  a  I ih en  coat 
and  gray  trousers,  and  he  looked  what  he  evidently  is,  a  well-bred 
gentleman.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  charm  of  his  manner,  which 
is  simple,  easy,  and  most  fascinating.  He  conversed  with  me  for 
a  long  time,  and  agreed  with  Benjamin  that  the  Yankees  did  not 
really  intend  to  go  to  war  with  England  if  she  recognized  the 
South  ;  and  he  said  that,  when  the  inevitable  smash  came — and 
that  separation  w"as  an  accomplished  fact — the  State  of  Elaine 
would  probably  try  to  join  Canada,  as  most  of  the  intelligent  peo- 
ple in  that  State  have  a  horror  of  being  ''under  the  thumb  of 
Massachusetts.'"  He  added,  that  Maine  was  inhabited  by  a  hardy, 
thrifty,  seafaring  population,  with  difierent  ideas  to  the  people  in 
the  other  New  England  States.  When  I  spoke  to  him  of  the 
wretched  scenes  I  had  witnessed  in  his  own  Slate  (Mississippi), 
and  of  the  miserable,  almost  desperate,  situation  in  which  I  had 
found  so  many  unfortunate  women,  who  had  been  left  behind  by 
their  male  relations;  .and  when  I  alluded  in  admiration  to  the 
quiet,  calm,  uncomplaining  manner  in  which  they  bore  tkeir  suffer- 


108 

ings  and  their  grief,  he  s'aid,  with  ninch  feeling,  that' he  always 
considered  silent  despair  the  mo^t  painful  description  of  misery  to 
witness,  in  the  same  way  that  he  thought  mute  insajiity  was  the 
most  awful  form  of  madness. 

He  spoke  to  me  of  Grenfdl,  who,  he  said,  seemed  to  be  serving 
the  Confederacy  in  a  disinterested  and  loyal  manner.  He  had 
heard  much  of  his  gallantry  and  good  services,  and  he  was  very 
Borry  when  I  told  him  of  Grenfell's  quarrel  with  thecivi]  power. 

He  confirmed  the  truth  of  my  remark,  that  a  Confederate  gen- 
eral is  either  considered  an  Admirable  Crichton  by  the  soldier^,  or 
else  abused  as  everything  bad  :  and  he  added,  the  misfortune  was, 
that  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  in  order  to  insure  success,  that  a 
general  must  oi)tain  and  ]ireserve  this  popularity  and  influence 
with  his  men,  who  were,  however,  generally  very  willing  to  accord 
their  confidence  to  any  officer  deserving  of  it. 

With  regard  to  the  black-flag-and-no-quarter  agitation,  he  said 
people  would  ta'k  a  great  deal,  and  even  go  into  action  determined 
to  give  no  quarter  ;  "  but,"  he  atfded,  "  1  have  yet  to*^iear  of  Con- 
federate soldiers  putting  men  to  death  who  have  thrown  down  their 
arms  and  held  up  their  hands." 

'  He  told  me  that  Lord  Russell  confessed  that  the  impartial  car- 
rying out  of  the  neutrality  laws  had  pressed  hard  upon  the  South; 
and  Mr.  Davis  asserted  tiiat  the  pressure  might  have  been  equal- 
ized, and  yet  retained  its  impartiality,  if  Great  Britain,  instead  of 
closing  her  ports,  had  opened  t  :em  to  the  prizes  of  both  parties; 
but  I  answered  that  perhaps  this  might  be  over-doing  it  a  little 
on  the  other  side. 

When  I  took  my  leave  about  9  o'clock,  the  President  asked  me 
,to  call  upon  him  again.  1  don't  think  it  is  possible  for  any  one  to 
have  an  interview  with  him  without  going  away  most  favorably 
impressed  by  his  agreeable,  nnassuuiing  manners,  and  by  the 
charm  of  his  conversation.  While  walking  home,  Mr.  Benjamin 
told  me  that  Mr.  Davis's  military  instincts  still  predominate,  and 
that  his  eager  wish  was  to  have  joined  the  army  instead  of  being 
elected  President. 

During  my  travels,  many  people  have  remarked  fo  me  that  Jef- 
ferson Davis  seems  in  a  peculiar  manner  adapted  for  his  office. 
His  military  education  at  West  Point  rendered  bin)  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  higher  officers  of  the  army  ;  and  his  post  of  Sec- 
retary of  War  under  the  old  government  brought  officers  of  all 
ranks  under  his  immediate  personal  knowledge  and  supervision. 
Ko  man  could  have  formed  a  more  accurate  estimate  of  their  re- 
spective merits.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  which  gave  the  Con- 
federates such  an  immense  start  in  the  way  of  generals  ;  for  hav- 
ing formed  his  opinion  with  regard  to  appointing  an  officer,  Mr. 
Davis  is  always  most  determined  to  carry  out  liis  intention  in  spite 


»  109 

of  every  obstacle.  His  services  in  the  Mexican  war  gave  him  the 
prestige  of  a  brave  man  and  a  good  soldier.  His  services  as  a 
statesman  pointed  him  out  as  tiie  only  man  who,  by  his  unflinch- 
ing determination  and  administrative  talent,  was  able  to  control 
the^popular  will.  People  speak  of  any  misfortune  happening  to 
him  as  an  irreparable  evil  too  dreadful  to  contemplate. 

Before  we  reached  the  Spottswood  Hotel,  we  met  • ,  to  whom 

Mr.  Benjamin  introduced  me.  Tliey  discussed  the  great  topic  of 
the  day — viz.,  the  recapture  of  Winchester  by  General  Ewell,  the 
news  of  which  had  just  arrived,  and  they  both  expressed  their  re- 
gret that  General  Milroy  should  have  escaped.  It  appears  that 
•this  Yankee  commander,  for  his  alleged  crimes,  had  been  put  //ors 
de  la  loi  by  the  Confederates  in  the  same  manner  as  General  But- 
ler.     said  to  me,  "  We  hope  he  may  not  be  taken  alive ;'  but 

if  he  is,  we  will  not  shrink  from  the  responsibility  of  putting  him 
to  death. 

ISth  June,  Thursday. — At  10  a.m.,  I  called  by  appointment  on 
Mr.  Sedden,  the  Secretary  of  War.  His  anteroom  was  crowded 
with  applicants  for  an  interview,  and  I  had  no  slight  difficulty  in 
getting  in.  Mr.  Sedden  is  a  cadaverous  but  clever-looking  man  ; 
he  received  me  with  great  kindness,  and  immediately  furnished  me 
with  letters  of  introduction  for  Generals  Lee  and  Longstreet. 

My  friend  Major  Norris  then  took  me  to  the  President's  office, 
and  introduced  me  to  the  -aids-de-camp  of  the  President — viz., 
Colonels  Wood,  Lee,  and  Johnston.  .  The  two  latter  are  sons  to 
General  Lee  and  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  who  was  killed 
at  Shiloh. 

■  Major  Norris  then  took  me  to  the  capitol,  and  introduced  me  to 
Mr.  Thompson  the  librarian,  and  to  Mr.  IVleyers/  who  is  now  sup- 
posed to  look  after  British  interests  since  the  abrupt  departure  of 
Mr.  Moore,  the  consul.  I  was  told  that  Mr.  Moore  had  always 
been  considered  a  good  friend  of  the  Southern  cause,  and  hjul  got 
into  the  mess  which  caused  his  removal  entirely  by  his  want  of 
tact  and  discretion.  There  is  a  fine  view  from  t lie  top  of  the 
capitol ;  the  librarian  told  me  that  last  year  the  fighting  before 
Richmond  could  easily  be  seen  from  thence,  and  many  ladies  used 
to  go  up  for  that  purpose.  Every  one  said,  that  notwithstanding, 
the  imminence  of  the  danger,  the  population  of  Ivichu.ond  contin- 
ued their  daily  avocations,  and  that  no  alarm  was  felt  as  to  the 
result.  • 

The  interior  of  the  capitol  is  decorated  with  numerous  flags 
captured  from  the  enemy.  They  are- very  gorgeous,  all  silk  and 
gold,  and  form  a  great  contrast  to  the  little  bunting  battle-flags  of 
the  Confederates.  Among  them  I  saw  two  colors  which  had  be- 
longed to  the  same  regiment,  the  37th  New  York  (I  think).  These 
were  captured  in  different  battles  ;  and  on -the  last  that  was  taken 


110  , 

there  is  actually  inscribed  aa  a  victory  the  word  Fair-oaks,  -which 
was  the  errgagement  in  which  the  regiment,  had  lost  its  first  color. 

Mr.  Butler  King,  a  member  of  Congress,  whose  acquaintance  I 
had  made  in  the  Spottswood  Hotel,  took  me  to  spend  the  evem'ng 

at  Mrs.  S 's,  a  charuiiiig  widow,  for  whom  I   had  brought  a 

letter  from  her  only  son,  aid-de  camp  to  General  Magruder,  in 
Texas. 

Mrs,  S is  clever  and  agreeable.     She  is  a  highly  patriotic 

SoulhiM-ner ;  but  she  told  me  that  she  had  stuck  fast  to  the  Union 
until  Lincoln's  proclamation  calling  out  75.000  men  to  coerce  the 
South,  which  converted  her  and  such  a  number  of  others  into 
strong  Secessionists.  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  evening  with  Mrs. 
S ,  who  had  been  much  in  England,  and  had  made  a  large  ac- 
quaintance there. 

Mr.  l^>ntler  King  is  a  Georgian  gentleman,  also  very  agreeable 
and  well  informed.  It  is  surprising  to  hear  the  extraordinary 
e(|uaniuiity  with  which  he  and  hundreds  of  fellow-sufferers  talk  of 
their  entire  ruin  and  the  total  destruction  of  their  property.  I  know 
many  i)ersons  in  England  suppose  that  Great  Britain  has  now 
made  enemies  both  of  the  North  and  South  ;  but  I  do  not  believe 
this  is  the  case  with  respect  to  the  South,  whatever  certain  Rieh- 
mond  papers  may  say.  The  South  looks  to  England  for  every 
thing  when  this  war  is  over; — she  wants  our  merchants  to  buy 
her  cotton,  she  wants  our  ships  to  carry  it; — she  is  willing  that 
England  should  supply  her  with  all  the  necessaries  which  she  for- 
merly received  from  the  KoVth.  It  is  common  to  hear  people  de- 
clare they  would  rather  pay  twice  the  price  for  English  goods 
than  trade  any  more  with  Yankeedom. 

19th  June,  Friday. — I  embarked  at  10  a.  m.  on  board  a  small 
steamer  to  visit  Drewry's  Bluff,  on  the  James  River,  the  scene  of 
the  repulse  of  the  iron-clads  ]\Ionitor  ai  d  Galena.  The  stream 
exactly  opposite  Richmond  is  very  shallow  and  rochy,  but  it  be- 
comes navigable  about  a  mile  below  the  city..  Drewry's  Bluff  is 
about  eight  miles  distant,  and,  before  reaching  it,  we  had  to  pass 
through  two  bridges — one  of  boats,  and  the  other  a  wooden  bridge. 
1  was  shown  over  the  fortifications  by  Captain  Chatard,  Confed- 
erate States  navy,  who  was  in  command  durmg  the  absence  of 
Captain  Lee.  A  floHlla  of  Confederate  gunboats  was  lying  just 
above  the  obstructions,  and  nearly  opi)osile  to  the  bluff.  Amongst 
them  was  the  Yorktown,  alias  Ratriek  Henry,  which,  under  the 
command  of  my  friend  Captain  Tucker,  figured  in  the  memorable 
Merrimac  attack.  There  was  also  an  iron-clad  called  the  Rich- 
mond, and  two  or  three  smaller  craft.  Beyond  Drewry's  Bluff,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  is  ('haffin's  Bluff,  which  mounts 

heavy  guns,  and  forms  the  extreme  right  of  the  Richmond 

defences  on  that  side  of. the  river. 


Ill 

At  the.  time  of  the  attack  by  the  two  Federal  irofi-clads,  assisted 
by  several  wooden  gunboats,  there  were  only  three  guns  mounted 
on  Drewry's  Bluff,  which  is  from  80  to  90  feet  high.  These  had 
been  hastily  removed  from  the  Yorktown,  and  dragged  up  there  by 
Captain  Tucker  on  the  previots  day.  They  were  either  smooth- 
bore 32-pounders  or  Sinch  guns,  I  forget  which.  During  the  con- 
test the  Monitor,  notwithstanding  her  recent  exploits  with  the 
Merrimac,  kept  herself  out  of  much  danger,  partly  concealed  be- 
hind the  bend  of  the  river  ;  but  her  consort,  the  iron-clad  Galena, 
approached  boldly  to  within  500  yards  of  the  bluff.  The  wooden 
gunboats  remained  a  considerable  distance  down  the  river.  After 
the  fight  had  lasted  about  four  hours  the  Galena  withdrew  much 
crippled,  and  has  never,!  believe,  been  known  to  fame  since.-  The 
result  of  the  contest  goes  to  confirm  the  opinion  expressed  to  me 
by  General  Beauregard — viz.,  that  iron-clads  cannot  resist  the 
plunging  fire  of  forts,  even  though  that  latter  can  only  boast  of 
the  old  smooth-bore  guns. 

A  Captain  Maury  took  me  on  board  the  Bichmond  iron-clad,  in 
which  vessel  I  saw  a  7-inch  treble-banded  Brook  gun,  weighing, 
they  told  me,  21,000  Ihs.,  and  capable  of  standing  a  charge  of  25 
lbs.  of  powder.  A.mongst  my  f-llow-passengers  from  Richmond  I 
had  observed  a  very  Ilibernian-looking  prisoner  in  charge  of  one 
soldier.  Captain  Maury  informed  me  that  this  individual  was 
being  taken  to  Chafhn's  Bluff,  where  he  is  to  be  shot  at  12  noon 
to-morrow  for  desertion. 

Major  Norris  and  I  bathed  in  James  Biver  at  7  p.  m.  from  a 
j-ocky  and  very  pretty  island  in  the  centre  of  the  stream. 

I  spent  another  very  agreeable  evening  at  Mrs,  S 's,  and 

met  General  Randolph,  Mr.  Butler  King,  and'  Mr.  Conrad  there; 
also  Colonel  Johnston,  aid-de-camp  to  the  President,  who  told  me 
that  they  had  been  forced,  in  order  to  stop  Burnside's  executions 
in  Kentucky,  to  select  two  Federal  captains,  and  put  them  under 
orders  for  death.  General  Randolph  looks  in  weak  health.  He 
had  f'or  some  lime  filled  the  post  of  Secretary  of  War  ;  but  it  is 
supposed  that  he  and'tjie  President  did  not  quite  hit  it  off  together. 
^Mr.  Conrad  as  well  as  Mr.  King  is  a  member  of  Congress,  and  he 
explained  to  me  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  each  State  was 
most  desirous  of  being  put  (without  the  slightest  necessity)  under 
military  law,  which  they  thought  was  quite  the  correct  remedy  for 
all  evil ;  but  so  sick  did  they  soon  become  of  this  reg/7ne  that  at 
the  last  session  Congress  had  refused  the  President  the  power  of 
putting  any  place  upder  military  law,  which  is  just  as  absurd  in 
the  other  direction. 

I  hear  every  one  complaining  dreadfully  of  Genet'al  Johnston's 
inactivity  in  Mississippi,  and  all  now  despair  of  saving  Vicksbur^. 
They  deplore  its  loss,  more  on  account  of  the  effects  its  conquest 


112 

may  have  in  prolonjring'  the  war,  than  for  any  other  reason.  No 
one  seems  to  fear  that  its  possession,  together  with  Port  Hudson, 
will  really  enable  the  Yankees  to  navigate  the  Mississippi ;  nor  do 
they  fear  that  the  latter  will  be  abhi  to  prevent  communication 
with  the  trans-Mississippi  country. 

Many  of  the  Richmond  papers  seem  to  me  scarcely  more  re- 
spectable than  the  New  York  ones.  Party  spirit  runs  high.  Lib- 
erty of  the  press  is  carried  to  its  fullest  extent. 

20th  June,  Saturday. — Armed  with  letters  of  introduction  from 
the  Secretary  of  War  for  Generals  Lee  and  Longstreet,  1  left 
Richmond  at  0  a.  im.,  to  join  the  Virginian  army.  I  was  accompa- 
nied ^by  a  sergeant  of  the  Signal  Corps,  sent  by  my  kind  friend 
Miijor  Norris,  for  the. purpose  of  assisting  me  in  getting  on.  We 
took  the  train  as  far  as  Culpepj^er,  and  arrived  there  at  5.30  p.  m., 
after  having  changed  cars  at  Gordonsviile,  near  which  place  I  ob- 
served.an  enormous  pile  of  excellent  rifles  rotting  in  the  open  air. 
These  had  been  captured  at  Oliancellorsville  ;  but  the  Confeder-^ 
ates  have  already  such  a  superabundant  stoi-k  of  rifles  that  appa- 
rently th.-y  can  afford  to  let  them  spoil.  The  weather  was  quite 
cool  after  the  rain  of  last  night.  1'he  country  through  which  we 
])assed  had  been  in  the  enemy's  hands  last  year,  and  was  evacuated 
by  them  after  the  battles  before  Richmond  ;  but  at  that  time  it  was 
hot  their  custom  to  burn,  destroy,  and  devastate — everything  look- 
ed green  and  beautiful,  and  did  not  in  the  least  give  one  tile  idea 
of  a  hot  country. 

In  his  late  daring  raid,  t^e  Federal  "General  Stoneman  crossed 
this  railroad,  and  destroyed  a  stnall  portion  of  it,  burned  a  few 
buildings,  and  penetra:ted  to  within  three  miles  of  Richmond  ;  but 
he  and  his  uien  were  in  such  a  hurry  that  they  had  not  time  to  do 
much  serious  harm. 

Culpepper  was,  until  five  days  ago,  the  headquarters  of  Generals 
Lee  and  Longstreet;  but  since  Ewell's  recapture  of  Winchester, 
the  whole  army  had  advanced  with  rapidity,  and  it  was  my  object 
to  catch  it  up  as  quickly  as  possible.  On  arriving  at  Culpepper, 
my  sergeant  handed  me  over  to  another  mj^'rmidon  of  Major  Nor- 
ris, with  orders  from  that  officer  to  supply  me  with  a  horse,  and 
take  me  himself  to  join  Mr.  Lawley,  who  had  passed  through  for 
the  same  purpose  as  myself  three  days  before. 

Sergeant  Norris,  my  new  chaperon,  is  cousin  to  Major  Norris, 
and  is  a  X'a;  ital  fellow.  Before  the  war  he  was  a  gentleman  of 
good  means  in  Maryland,  and  was  accustomed  to  a  life  of  luxury; 
he  now  lives  the  life  of  a  private  soldier  with  perfect  contentment, 
and  is  utterly  indifferent  to  civilization  and  comfort.  Although  he 
was  unwell  when  I  arrived,  and  it  was  pouring  with  rain,  he  pro- 
posed that  we  should  start  at  onc6 — 6  p.  m.  1  agreed,  and  we  did 
so.     Our  horses  had  both  sore  backs,  were  both  unfed,  except  on  ^ 


113 

grass,  and  mine  was  deficient  of- a  shoe.  They  nevertheless  trav 
eled  well,  and  we  reached  a  hamlet  called  Woodville,  fifteen  miles 
distant,  at  9  30.  We  had  great  difficulty  in  procuring  shelter ; 
but  at  lengtj]  we  overcame  theinbospitalify  of  a  native,  who  gave 
us  a  feed"  of  corn  for  our  horses,  and  a  blanket  on  the  floor  for 
ourselves. 

21^^ /z^wc,  Sunday.— We  got  thfeboTse  shod  with  some  delay, 
and  after  refreshing  the  animals  with  corn  and  ourselves  with 
bacon,  we  etTected  a  start  at  8.15  a  m.  We  experienced  consid- 
erable difficulty  in  .  arrying  my  small  saddle-bajjs  and  knapsack, 
on  account  of  the  state  of  our  horses'  backs.  Mine  was  not  very 
bad,  but  ti)at  of  Norris  was  in  a  horrid  state.  We  had  not  travel- 
ed  more  than  a  few  miles  when  the  latter  animal  cast  a  sho^, 
which  took  us  an  hour  to  replace,  at  a  village  called  Sperryville. 
The  country  is  really  magnificent,  but  as  it  has  supported  two 
large  armies  for  two  years,  it  is  now  completely  cleaned  out.  It 
is  almost  uncultivated,  and  no  animals  are  grazing  where^there 
used  to  be  hundreds.  All  fences  have  been  destroyed,  and.  num- 
berless  farms  burnt,  the  chimneys  alone  le!t  standing.  It  is'  diffi- 
cult to  depict  and  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  sufferijigs  which 
this  part  of  Virginia  has  undergone.  But  the  ravages  of  war  have 
not  been  able  to  destroy  the  beauties  of  nature — the  verdure  is 
charming,  the  trees  magnificent,  the  country  undulating,  and  the 
Blue  Ridg^  Mountains  form  the  background. 

Being  Sunday,  we- met  about  thirty  negroes  going  to  church, 
wonderl'ully  smartly  dressed,  some  (both  n)ale  and  female)  riding 
on  horseback,  and  others  in  wagtms  ;  but  Mr.  Norris  informs  me 
that  two  years  ago  we  should  have  numbered  them  by  hundreds. 
W^e  soon  l)egan  to  ratch  up  the  sick  and  broken-down  men  of  the 
army,  but  not  in  great  numbers  ;  most  of  them  were  well  shod, 
though  1  saw  two  without  shoes. 

After  crossing  a  gap  in  the  Blue  Ridge  range,  w^e  reached  Fron^ 
Royal  at  5  P.  m.,  and  we  were  now  in  the  well-known  Shenandoah' 
Valley — the  scene  of  Jackson's  celebrated  campaigns.  Front- 
Royal  is  a  pretty  little  place,  and  was  the  theatre  of  one  of 
the  earliest  fights  in  the  war,  which  was  commenced  by  a  Mary- 
land rj^giment  of  Confederates,  who,  as  Mr.  Norris  observed, 
"jumped  on  to"  a  Federal  regiment  from  the  same  State,  aiid 
"whipped  it  badly."  Since  that  time  the  village  has  changed 
hands  continually,  and  was,  visited  by  the  Federals  only  a  few  days 
previous  to  Ewell's  rapid  advance  ten  days- ago. 

After  immense  trouble  we  procured  a  feed  of  corn  for  the  horses, 
and,  to  Mr.  Norris's  astonishment,  I  was  impudent  enough  to  get 
food"  for  ourselves  by  appealing  to  the  kind  feelings  of  two  good- 
locking  female  citizens  of  ITront  Royal,  who,  during  our  supper, 
8      ' 


114 

entertained  us  by  stories  of  the  manner  they  annoyed  the  North- 
ern soldiers  by  disagreeable  allusions  to  "Stonewall"  Jackson. 

We  started  a^rain  ar  6.30.  and  crossed  two  branches  of  the  Shen- 
andoah river,  a  broad  and  rapid  stream.  Both  the  railway  and 
carriage  bridges  having  been  destroyed,  we  had  to  ford  it ;  and  as 
the  water  was  deep,  we  were  only  just  able  to  sccomplish  the 
passage.  The  soldier;";,  of  whom  there  were  a  number  with  us, 
took  off  their  trousers,  and  held  their  rifles  and  ammunition  above 
their  heads.  Soon  afterwards  our  horses  became  very  leg-weary  ; 
for  although  the  weather  had  been  cool,  the  roads  were  muddy  and 
hard  upon  them.  At'S.30  we  came  up  wilh  Pender's  division 
encamped  on  the  sides  of  hills,  illuminated  wilh  innumerable 
camp-hres,  which  looked  very  picturesque.  After  passing  through 
about  two  miles  of  bivouacs,  we  begged  for  shelter  in  the  hay -loft 
of  a  Mr.  Mason ;  we  turned  our  horses  into  a  field,  and  found  our 
hay-lofi  most  luxurious  after. forty-six  miles'  ride  at  a  foot's  pace. 

Stonewall  Jackson  is  considered  a  regular  demigod  in  this 
country. 

22d  June,  Monday. — "We  started  without  food  or  corn  at  6.30 
A.  M.,  and  soon  became  entangled  with  Pender's  division  on  its 
line  of  march,  which  delayed  us  a  good  deal.  My  poor  brute  of  a 
horse  also  took  this  opportunity  of  throwing  two  more  shoes,  which 
we  found  it  impossible  to  replace,  all  the  blacksmiths'  shops  hav- 
ing been  pressed  by  the  troops. 

The  soldiers  of  this  division  are  a  remarkably,  fine  body  of  men, 
and  look  quite  seasoned  and  ready  for  any  work.  'J'heir  clothing 
is  serviceable,  so  also  are  their  boots ;  but  there  is  the  usual  utter 
absence  of  uniformity  as  to  color  and  shape  of  their  garments  and 
hats:  gray  of  all  shades,  and  brown  clothing,  with  felt  hats  pre- 
dominate. The  Confederate  troops  are  now  entirely  armed  with 
excellent  rifles,  mostly  Enfields.  When  they  first  turned  out  they 
were  in  the  habit  of  wearing  nunlerons  revolvers  and  bowie-knives. 
General  Lee  is  said  to  have  mildly  remarked :  "  Gentlemen,  I 
think  you  will  find  an  Enfield,  rifle,  a  bayonet,  and  sixty  rounds  of 
ammunition,  as  much  as  yOu  can  conveniently  carry  in  the  way  of 
arms."  They  laughed,  and  thought  they  knew  better;  but  the 
six-shooters  and  bowie-knives  gradually  disappeared ;  and  now 
none  are  to  be  seen  among  the  infantry. 

The  artillery  horses  are  in  poor  condition,  and  only  get  3  lb.  of 
corn*  a  day.  The  artillery  is  of^  all  kinds — Parrots,  Napoleons, 
rifled  and  smooth  bores,  all  shapes  and  sizes  ;  most  of.  them  bear 
the  letters  U.  S.,  showing  that  they  have  changed  masters. 

The  colors  of  the  regiments  differ  from  the  blue  battle-flags  I 
saw  with  Bragg's  army.    They  are.  generally  red,  with  a  blue 

**  Indian  G€>rn. 


115 

St.  Andrew's  Cross  showing  the  stars.  This  pattern  is  said  to 
h,ave  been  invented  by  General  Joseph  Johnston,  as  not  so  lialile 
to  be  mistaken  for  the  Yankee  flag.  The  new  Confederate  flag 
has  evidently  been  adopted  from  this  battle-flag,  as  it  is  called. 
Most  of  the  colors  in  this  division  bear  the  names  Manassas, 
Fredericksburg,  Seven  Kines,  liar  per '<}  Ferry,  ChaucellorsvUle, 
&c.  ■  .•-  ?r,' 

I  saw  no  stragglers  during  the  time  I  was  with  Pender's  di- 
vision ;  but  although  the  Virginian ^rmy  wrtainly  does  get  over 
a  deal  of  ground,  yet  they  move  at  a  slow  dragging  pace,  and  are 
evidently  not  good  marchers  naturally.  As  Mr.  Norris  observed 
to  me,  "  Before  this  war  we  were  a  lazy  set  of  devils  ;  our  nig- 
gers worked  for  us,;and  none  of  us  ever  dreamt  of  walking,  though 
we  all  rode  a  great  deal." 

AVe  reached  Berry ville  (eleven  miles)  at  9  a.  m.  The  head- 
quarters of  General  Lee  were  a  few  hundred  yards  beyond  this 
place.  Just  before  getting  there,  I  saw  a  general  oflScer  of 
handsome  appearance,  who  must,  Tlinew  from  description,  be  the 
Commander-in-chief;  but  as  he  was  eviilently  engaged  I  did  not 
join  him,  although  I  gave  my  letter  of  introduction  to  one  of  his 
Staff.  Shortly  afterwards  I  presented'  myself  to  Mr.  Lawley, 
with  whom  1  became  immediately  ^reat  friends.*  He  introduced 
me  to  General  Ciiilton,  the  Adjutant-general  of  the  army,,  to 
Colonel  Coie,  the  Quartermaster-general,  to  ^lajor  Taylor,  Captain 
Venables,  and  other  officers  of  General  Lee's  Staff;  and  he  sug- 
gested, as  the  headquarters  were  so  busy  and  crowded,  that  he  and 
1  should  ride  to  Winchester  at  once,  and  afterwards  ask  for  hos- 
pitality from  the  less  busy  Stafi"  of  General  Longstreet.  1  was 
also  introduced  to  Captain  Schreibert,  ©f  the  Prussian  army,  who 
is  a  guest  sometimes  of  General  Lee  and  sometimes  of  General 
Stuart  of  the  cavalry.  He  had  been  present  at  one  of  the  late 
severe  jcavalry  skirmishes,  which  have  been  of  constant  occurrence 
since  the  .sudden  advance  of  this  army.  This  advance  has  been 
so  admirably  timed  as  to  -allow  of  the  capture  of  Winchester,  with 
its  Yankee  garrison  and  stores,  and  at  the  same  time  of  the  seizure 
of  tile  gaps  of  the  Blue  Ridge  range.  All  the  officers  were  speak- 
ing with  regr  t  of  the  severe -wound  received  in  this  skirmish  by 
Major  Von  Borke,  another  Prussian,  but  now  in  the  Confederate 
States  service,  and  aid-de-camp  to  Jeb  Stuart. 

After  eating  some  breakfast,  Lawley  and  I  rode  ten  miles  into 
Winchester.  My  horse,' minus  his  fore-shoes,  showed  signs  of  great 
fatigue,  but  we  struggled  into  Winchester  at  5  P.  m.,  where  1  was 
fortunate  enough  to  procure  shoes  for  the  horse,  and,  by  Lawley's 
introduction,  admirable  quarters  for  both  of  us  at  the  house  of  the 

*  The  Honorable  F.  -Lawley,  author  of  the  admirable  letters  from  the 
Southtira  btates,  which  appeared  la  the  "Times"  newspapw. 


/ 


116 

hospitable  Mrs. ,  with  whom  he  had  lodged  seven  months  be- 
fore, and  who  was  charmed  to  see  him.  Her  two  nieces,  who  are 
as  agreeable  as  they  are  good-looking,  gave  us  a  miseralile  picture 
of  the  three  captivities  they  have  experienced  under  the  Federal 
commanders,  Banks,  Shields,  and  Milroy. 

The  unfortunate  town  uf  Winchester  ^'-ems  to  have  been  made  a 
regular  shuttlecock  of  by  the  contending^irmies.  Stonewall  Jack- 
son rescued  it  otice,  and  last  Sunday  week  his  successor,  General 
Ewell,  drove  out  Milroy.  The  name  of  Milroy  is  always  associ- 
ated with  that  of  Batler,  and  his  rule  in  Winchester  seems  to  have 
been  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  his  illuslrious  rival  in  New  Or- 
leans. Should  either  of  these  two  individuals  fall  alive  into  the 
hands  of  the  Confederates,  I  imagine  that  Jeff.  ])avis  himself 
would  be  unable  to  save  their  lives,  even  if  he  were  disposed  to 
do  so. 

Before  leaving  Richmond,  I  heard  every  one  expressing  regret 
that  Milroy  should  have  escaped,  as  the  recapture  of  Winchester 
seemed  to  be  incomplete  without  him.  More  than  4,000  of  his 
men  were  taken  in  the  two  foils  which  overlook -the  town,  and 
which  were  carried  by  assault  by  a  Louisianian  brigade  with 
trifling  loss.  The  joy  of  the  unfortunate  iuhabitants.  may  easily  be 
conceived  at  this  sudden  and  unexpected  relief  from  their  last  cap- 
tivity, which  had  lasted  six  months.  During  the  whole  of  this 
time  they  could  not  legally  buy  an  article  of  provisions  without 
faking  the  oath  of  allegiance,' which  they  magnanimously  refused 
to  do.  They  were  unahle  to' hear  a  word  of  their  male  relations 
or  friends,  who  were  all  in  the  Soul  hern  army  ;  they  were  shut  up 
in  their  houses  after  8  p.  m.,  and  sometimes  deprived  of  light ;  part 
of  our  kind  entertainer's  house  was  forcibly  occupied  by  a  vulgar, 
ignorant,  and  low-born  Federal  officer,  ci-devant  driver  of  a  street 
car;  and  they  were  constantly  suhjeoted  to  the  most  humiliating 
insults,  on  pretence  of  searching  the  house  for  arms,  documents, 
&c.  To  my  surprise,  however,  these  ladies  spoke  of  the  enemy 
with  less  violence  and  rancor  than  almost  any  other  ladies  I  had 
met  with  during  my  travels  through  the  whole  Southern  Confed- 
eracy. When  I  told  them  so,  they  replied  that  they  who  had  seen 
many  men  shot  down  in  the  streets  before  their  own  eyes  knew 
what  they  were  talking  about,  which  other  and  more  excited 
Southern  women  did  not. 

Ewell's  division  is  in  front  and  across  the  Potoniac ;  and  be- 
fore I  left. headquarters  this  morning,  I  saw  Longstreet's  corps 
beginning  to. follow  in  the  same  direction. 

23^  June,  Tuesday.— Lawley  and  I  went  to  inspect  the  site  of 

■  Mr.  Mason's  (the  Southern  Commissioner  in  London)  once  pretty 

house — a  melancholy  scene.     It  had  been  charmingly  situated 

near  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  by  all  accounts  must  have  been 


117 

a  delightful  little  place.  When  Lawley  saw  it  seven  months  ago, 
it  was  then  only  a  ruin  ;  but  since  that  time  Northern  vengeance 
(as  directed  by  General  Milroy)  has  satiated  itself  by  destroying 
almost  the  very  foundations  of  the  house  of  this  arch-traitor,  as 
they  call  him.  Literally  not  one  stone  remains  standing  upon 
another ;  and  the  debris  t^eems  to  have  been  carted  away,  for  there 
is  now  a  big  hole  where  the  prin  ipal  part  of  the  house  stood. 
Troops  have  evi  lently  been  encamped  upon  the  ground,  which  was 
strewed  with  fragments  of  Yankee  clothing,  accoutrements,  &c. 

I  understand  that  Winchester  used  to  be  a  most  agreeable  little 
town,  and  its  society  extremely  pleasant.  Many  of  its  houses  are 
now  destroyed  or  converted  into  hospitals ;  the  rest  look  miser- 
able and  dilapidated.  Its  female  inhabitants  (for  the  able-bodied 
males  are  all  absent  in  the  army)  are  familiar  with  the  bloody  re- 
alities of  war.  As  many  as  5,000  wounded  have  been  accommo- 
dated here  at  one  time.  All  ihe  ladies  are  accustomed  to  the 
bursting  of  shells  and  thi-  sight  of  fighting,  and  all  are  turned  into 
hospital  nurses  or  cooks. 

From  the  utter  impossibility  of  rrocuring  porn,  I  was  forced  to 
take  the  horses  out  grazing  a  mile  beyond  the  town  for  four  hours 
in  the  morning  and  two  in  the  afternoon.  As  one  mustn't  lose  sight 
of  them  for  a  moment,  this  occupied  me  all  day,  while  Lawley 
wrote  in  the  house.  In  the  evening  we  went  to  visit  two  wound- 
ed ofBcers  in  Mrs. 's  house,  a  major  and  a  captain  in  the  Lou- 

sianian  brigade  which  stormed  the  forts  last  Sunday  week.  I  am 
afraid  the  captain  will  die.  Both  are  shot  through  the  body,  but 
are  cheery.  They  served  under  Stonewall  Jackson  until  his  death, 
and  they  venerate  his  name,  though  they  both  agree  that  he  has 
got  an  efficient  successor  in  Ewell,  his  former  companion  in  arms; 
and  they  confirmed  a  great  deal  of  what  General  Johnston  had 
told  me  as  to  Jackson  having  been  so  much  indebted  to  Ewell  for 
several  of  his  victories.  They  gave  us  an  animated  account  of  the 
spirits  knd  feeling  of  the  army.  At  no  period  of  the  war,  they  say, 
have  the  men  been  so  well  equipped,  so  well  clothed,  socager  for 
a  fight,  or  so  confident  of  success — a  very  diflferent  state  of  affairs 
from  that  which  characterized  the  Maryland  invasion  of  last  year, 
when  half  of  the  army  were  barefooted  stragglers,  and  many  of  the 
remainder  unwilling  and  reluctant  to  cross  the  Potomac. 

Miss  — ^.told  me  to-day  that  dancing  and  horse-racing  are  for- 
bidden by  the  Episcopal  Church  in  this  part  of  Virginia. 

2ith  June,  Wednesday. — Lawley  being  in  weak  health,  we  de- 
termined to  spend  another  day  with  our  kind  friends  in  Winchester. 
I  took  the  horses  out  again  for  six  hours  to  graze,  an.d  made  ac- 
quaintance with  two  Irishmen,  who  gave  me  some  cut  grass  and 
salt  for  the  horses.  One  of  these  men  had  served  and  had  been 
wounded  in  the  Southern  army.      I  remarked  to  him  that  he  must 


118 

have  killed  lots  of  his  own  cnuntn'men  ;  to  which  he  rpplied,  "  Oh 
yes,  but  faix  tliey  must  all  take  it  as  it  comes."  I  |iave  always 
observed  that  Southern  Irishmen  make  t^xcellent  "  Rebs."  and 
have  no  sort  of  scruple  in  killing  as  many  of  their  Northern  bre- 
thren as  they  possibly  can. 

I  saw  to-d^y  many  new  Yankee  .graves,  whioh  the  deaths  among: 

the  captives  are  constantly  increasing.      Wood'en   head-jiosts  are 

put  at  each  ^rave,  on  which  is   written,  "  An  Unknown  vSoldier, 

*  I  U.  S.  A.     Died  of  wounds  received  upon  the  field  of  battle,  June 

21,  22,  or  23,  1863." 

A  sentry  stopped  me  to-day  as  I  was  croing  out  of  town,  and 
when  I  showed  him  my  pass  from  General  Chilton,  he  replied  with 
great  firmness,  hnt  with  perfect  courte^^y,  "  I'tii  extremely  sorry, 
sir;  but  if  you  were  the  Secretary  of  War,  or  Jeff.  Davis  himself, 
you  couldn'r  pass  without  a  passport  from  the  Provost-marshal." 

25(k  June,  Thursday. — We  took  leave  of  Mrs. and  her  hos- 
pitable family,  and  started  at  10  a.m.  to  overtake  Generals  Lee 
and  Longstreer,  whp  were  su])posed  to  be  crossiijg  the  Potomac 
at  Willii'.msport.  Before  we,  had  got  more  than  a  few  miles  on 
our  way.  we  began  to  nieet  horses  and  oxen,  the  first  fruits  of  Ew- 
ell's  advance  into  Pennsylvania.  The  weather  was  cool  and  sho\y- 
ery,  and  all  went  swimmingly  for  the  first  fourteen  miles,  when 
\^e  caught  up  McLaws's  division,  which  belongs  to  Longstreet's 
corps.  A^my  horse  about  this  time  began  to  show -6Jigns  of  fa- 
tigue, and  as  Lawley's  pickaxed  most  alarnu'ngly,  we  turned  thetn 
into  some  clover  to  graze,  whilst  we  watched  two  brigades  pass 
along  the  road..  Tliey  wergicommanded,  I  think,  by  Semmes  and 
Earksdale,*  and  were  composed  of  Georgians.  Mississippians,  and 
South  Carolinian.s.  They  marched  very  well,  and  there  was  no 
attempt  at  straggling;  quite  a  different  state  of  things  from  Johur 
ston's  men  in  Mississippi.  All  were  well  shod  and  efficiently 
clothed.  In  rear  of  each  regiment  were  from  twenty  to  thirty 
negro  slaves,  and  a  certain  number  of  unarmed  men  carrying 
stretchers  and  wearing  in  their  hats  the  red  badges  of  the  ambu- 
lance corps  ; — this  is  an  exctrUent  institution,  for  it  prevents  un- 
wounded  men  falling  out  on  pretence  of  taking  woun  led  to  the 
rear.  The  knapsacks  of  the  men  still  bear  the  names  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Vermont,  New  Jersey,  or  other  regiments  to  which  they 
oiiginally  belonged.  There  were  about  twenty  wagons  to  each 
brigade,  most  of  which  were  marked  U.  S.,  and  each  of  these  bri- 
gades was  about  2,80p  strong.  There  are  four  brigades  in  Mc- 
Laws's division.  All  the  men  seem  in  the  highest  spirits,  and  were 
cheering  and  yelling  most  vociferously. 

We  reached  Martinsburg  (twenty-two  miles)  at  6  P.  m.,  by  which 

*  Barksdule  was  killed,  and  b«mmea  mortally  wounded,  at  the  battle  of 
trettysburg. 


119 

time  my  horse  nearly  broke  down,  and  I  was  forced  to  get  off  and 
walk.  Martinsburg  and  this  part  of  Virginia  are  supposed  to  be 
more  Unionist  than  Southern:  however,  many  of  the  women  went 
through  the  form  of  cheering  McLaws's  division  as  it  passed.  I 
dare  say  they  would  perform-  the  same  ceremony  in  honor  of  the 
Yankees  to-morrow. 

Three  miles  beyond  Martinsburg  we  were  forced  by  the  state  of 
our  horses  to  insist  upon  receiving  the  unwilling  hospitality  of  a 
very  surly  native,  who  was  evidently  Unionist  in  his  proclivities. 
We  were  obliged  to  turn  our  horses  into  a  field  to  graze  during 
the  night.  'J'his  was  most  dangerous,  for  the  Confederate  so  dier, 
in  spite  of  his  many  virtues,  is,  as  a  rule,  the  most  incorrigible 
horse-stealer  in  the  world. 

2Q>th  June,  Friday. — I  got  up  a  little  before  daylight,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  drenching  rain,  I  secured  our  horses,  which,  to 
my  intense  relief,  were  present.  But  my  horse  showed  a  back 
rapidly  getting  worse,  and  both  looked  "mean"  to  a  degree. — 
Lawley  being  ill,  he  declined  starting  in  the  rain,  and  our  host  be- 
came ntore  and  more  surly  when  we  stated  our  intention  of  re- 
maining with  him.  However,  the  sight  of  real  gold  instead  of 
Confederate  paper,  or  even  greenbacks,  soothed  him  wonderfully, 
and  he  furnished  us  with  S(mie  breakfast.  All  this  time  M'Law's 
division  was  passing  the  door;  but  so  strict  was  the  discipline, 
that  Ihe  only  man  who  loafed  in  was  immedi  itely  pounced  upon 
and  carried  away  captive.  At  2  p.  m.,  the  weather  having  become 
a  little  clearer,  we  made  a  start,  but  under  very  unpromising  cir- 
cumstances. Lawley  was  so  ill  that  he  could  hardly  ride;  his 
horse  was  most  unsafe,  and  had  cast  a  shoe; — my  animal  was  in 
such  a  miserable  state  that  I  had  not  the  inhumanity  to  ride  him ; 
but,  by  the  assistance  of  his  tail,  I  managed  to  struggle  through 
the  deep  mud  and  wet. 

We  soon  became  entangled  with  M'Law's  division,  and  reached 
the  Potomac,  a  distance  of  nine  miles  and  a  half,  at  5  p.  m.;  the 
river  is  both  wide  and  deep,  and  in  fording  it,  (for  which  pur- 
pose I  was  obliged  to  mount)  we  couldn't  keep  our  legs  out  of  the 
water.  The  little  town  of  Williamsport  is  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river,  and  we  were  now  in  Maryland.  We  had  the  mortifica- 
tion to  learn  that  Generals  Lee  and  Long^treet  had  quitted  Wil- 
liamsport this  morning  at  11  o'clock,  and  were  therefore  obliged 
to  toil  on  to  Hagerstown,  six  miles  further.  This  latter  place  is 
evidently  by  no  meatus  rebel  in  its  sentiments,  for  all  the  houses 
were  shut  up,  and  many  apparently  abandoned.  The  few  natives 
that  were  about  stared  at  the  troops  with  sulky  indifference. 

After  passing  through  Hagerstown,  we  could  obtain  no  certain 
information  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  two  generals,  nor  could  we 
get  any  willing  hospitality  from  any  one ;    but  at  9  p.  M.,  our 


120 

horses  heing  quite  exhausted,  we  forced  ourselves  into  the  house 
of  a  ]>utchman,  who  becauic  a  little  more  civil  at  the  sight  of  gold, 
all  hough  the  assurance  that  we  were  English  travelers,  and  not 
reliels,  had  produced  no  eliect.  I- had  walked  to-day.  in  mud  and 
rain  seventeen  miles,  and  1  dared  not  take  otf  my  solitary  pair  of 
buol"«j,  because  I  knew  1  should  iiever  get  them  on  again.- 

,  21th  June,  Saturday. — Lawley  was  so  ill  this  morning  that  he 
couldn't  possibly  ride.  I  therefore  uKtunted  his  horse  a  little  be- 
fore dayi)reak,  and  started  in  search  of  the  generals.  After  riding 
eight  mile^,  I  came  up  with  General  Longstreet,  at  6.30  a  m.,  and 
was. only  just  in  time,  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  moving.  Both 
lie  and  his  stalT  were  most  kind,  when  1  introduced  myself  and 
stated  my  difficulties,  He  arranged  that  an  ambulance  should 
fetch  Lawley,  and  he  immediately  invited  me  to  join  his  messdur- 
ijig  the  campaign.  He  told. me  (which  I  did  not  know)  that  we 
were  now  in  Pennsylvania,  the  enemy '.s  country — l\Iaryland  being 
only  ten  miles  broad  at  this  point.  He  declared  that  bushwhack- 
ers exist  in  the  woods,  who  slvoot  unsuspecting  straggers.  and  it 
would  therefore  be  unsafe  that  Lawley  and  1  should  travel  alone. 
General  Longstreet  is  an  Alabamian — a  thickset,  determined-look- 
ing ?nan,  forty -three  years  of  age.  He  was  an.infa!itry  Major  in 
the  old  army,  and  now  comaiands  the  1st  corps  d'armcc.  He  is 
never  far  from  General  Lee,  who  relies  very  much  upon  his  judg- 
ment. By  the  soldiers  he  is  invariably  spoken  of  as  "  the.  best 
tighter  in  the  whole  army."  V/hilst  speaking  of  entering  upon 
liie  enemy's  soil,  he  said  to  me  that  although  it  might  be  fair  in 
just  retaliation,  to  apply  the  torch,  yet  that  doing  so  would  de- 
moralize the  army  and  ruin  its  now  excellent  discipline.  Private 
property  is  to  be  therefore  rigidly  protected. 

At  7  A.  JM.  I  returned  with  an  orderly  (or  courier,  as  they  are 
called,)  to  the  farm  house  in>which  1  had  left  Lawley  ;  and  after 
seeing  all  arranged  satisfactorily  about  the  ambulance,  I  rode 
slowly  oh  to  rejoin  General  Longstreet,  near  Chambersburg,  which 
is  a  Pennsylvania  town,  distant  twenty-two  miles  from  Hagers- 
town.  1  was  with  M'Laws's  division,  and  observed  that  the  mo- 
ment they  entered  Pennsylvania,  the  troops  opened  the  fences  and 
enlarged  the  road  about  twenty  yards  on  each  side,  which  enabled 
the  wagons  and  themselves  to  proceed  together.  This  is  the  oidy 
damage  I  saw  done  by  the  Confederates.  This  part  of  Pennsyl- 
vania is  very  flourishing,  highly  cultivated,  and,  in  comparison 
with  the  Southern  States,  thickly  peopled.  But  all  the  cattle 
and  horses  having  been  seized  by  Kwell,  farm  labor  had  now  come 
to  a  complete  standstill. 

In  passing  through  Greencastle  we  found  all  the  houses  and 
windows  shut  up,  the  natives  in  their  Sunday  clothes  standing  at 
their  doors  regarding  the  troops  in  a  very  unfriendly  manner.     I 


121 

saw  no  strag'glin^  into  the  houses,  por  were  any  of  the  inhabi- 
tants disturbed  or  annoyed  b}^  the  soldiers.  Sentries  were  placed 
at  the  doors  of  many  of  the  best  houses,  to  prevent  any  officer  or 
soldier  from  getting  in  on  any  pretence. 

I  entered  Chanibersbnrg  at  -6  P.  M.  This  is  a  town  of  some 
size  and  importance.  AU  its  houses  were  shut  up  ;  l)ut  the  na- 
tives^ were  in  the  streets,  or  at  the  upper  windows,  Inuking  in  a 
scowling  and  bewildered  manner  at  the  Confederate  troops,  who 
were  marching  gayly  past  to  the  tune  of  ])ixie"s  Land.  Tiie  wo- 
men (many  of  whom  were  pretty  and  well  dressed)  were, ])articu- 
larly  sour  and  disa^rreeablein  their  remarks.  I»  b^'ard  one  of  them 
say,  "Look  at.  Pharaoh's  army  going  to  the  Red  Sea."  Others 
were  pointing  and  laughing  at  Hood's  ragged  Jacks,  who  were 
passing  at  the  time  .This  division,  well  known  f 01^  its  fighting 
qualities,  is  composed  of  Texans,  A'aba'i  ians,  and  Aikausians, 
and  they  certainly  are  a  queer  lot  to  look  at.  They  carry  less 
than  any  other  troops;  many  of  them  have  only  got  tin  old  piece 
of  carpet  or  rug  as  baggage;  many  have  discarded  their  shxjes  in 
the  mud;  all  are  ragged  and  din  y,  but  full  of  good  huihor  and 
confidence  in  themselves  and  in  their  general.  Hood.  'J'hey  an- 
swered the  numerous  taunts  of  the  Ghambersburg  ladies  with 
cheers  and  \aughter.  One  female  had  seen  tit  to  adorn  her  ample 
bosom  with  a  huge  Yankee  flag,  an  '  she  stood  at  the  door  of  her 
house,  her  countenance  expressing  the  greatest  contempt  lor  the 
barefooted  Rebs;  several  companies  passed  her  without  taking 
any  notice  ;  i)ut  at  length  a  Texan  gravely  remarked,  "  'J;'ake 
care,  madam,  for  Hood's  boys  are  great  at  storming  breastworks, 
when  the  Yankee  colors  is  on  them."  After  this  speech  the  pa- 
triotic lady  beat  a  precipitate  retreat. 

Sentries  were  placed  at  the  doors  of  all  the  principalhouses. 
and  the  town  Was  cleared  of  all  but  the  military  passiig  through 
or  on  duty.  Some  of  the  troops  marched  straigiit  through  the 
town,  and  bivouacked  on  the  Carlisle  road.  Others  turned  off  to 
the  right  and  occupied  the  Gettysluirg  turnpike.  1  found  Cienerals 
Lee  and  Longstreet  encamped  on  the  latter  road,  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  from  the  town. 

^General  Longstreet  and  his  ^^taff  at  once  received  me  into  their 
mess,  and  I  was  introduced  to  j\lajor  Lairfax,  Majnf*  Latrobe,  and 
Captain  Rogers  of  his  personal  staff;  aho  to'^Major  Closes,  the 
Cliief  Commissary,  whose  tent  I  am  to  share.  He  is  the  most 
jovial,  amusing;  clever  son  of  Israel  I  ever  had  the  good  fortune 
to  meet.  The  olliei*  oificers  of  Longstreet's  headquarter  staff  are 
Colonel  Sorrell,  Lieutenant  Colonel  ]\Ianning,  (ordnance  oflRcer,) 
Major  Walton,  Captain  Goree,  and  Major  Clark,  all  excellent  good 
felluws,  and  most  hospitable.* 

*  Having  lived  at  the  lieadquarters  of  ail  the  principal  Confederate  Gen- 


122  ' 

Lawley  is  to  live  with  three  doctors  on  the  headqaarter  staff; 
their  names  are  Cullen,  Barksdiile  and  Maury  ;  they  form  a  jolly 
trio,  and  live  much  more  luxuriously  than  their  jrenerahs. 

Major  Moses  tells  me  that  liis  orders  are  to  open  the  stores  in 
Chambersl  org  by  force,  and  seize  all  that  is  wanted  for  the  army 
in  a  regular  and  official  manner,  giving  in  return  its  value  in  Con- 
federate money  on  a  recei))t.  The  storekeepers  have  doubtless 
sert  away  their  most  valuable  goods  on  the  approach  of  the  Con- 
federate army.  Much  also  has  been  already  siezed  by  Ewell,  who 
passed  througii  nearly  a  week  ago.  But.  Moses  was  much  elated 
at  having  already  discovered-  a  large  supply  of  excellent  felt  hats, 
hidden  away  in  a  cellar,  which  he  "annexed"  at  once. 

I  was  told  this  evening  the  numbers  which  have  crossed  the 
Potomac,  and  also  the  number  of  pieces  of  artillery.  There  is  a 
large  train  of  ammunition  ;  for  if  the  army  advances  any  deeper 
into  the  enemy's  country,  General  Lee  cannot  expect  to  keep  his 
communications  open  to  the  rear;  and  as  the  staff  officers  say, 
"  In  every  battle  we  fight  we  must  capture  as  much  ammunition 
as  we  use."  This  necessity,  however,  does  not  seem  to  disturb 
them,  as  it  has  hitherto  been  their  regular  style  of  doing  business. 

Ewell,  after  the  capture  of  Winchester,  had  advanced  rapidly 
into  Tennsylvania,  and  has  already  sent  back  great  quantities  of 
horses,  mules,  wagons,  beeves,  and  other  necessaries;  he  is  now 
at  or  beyond  Carlisle,  laying  the  country  under  contribution,  and 
making  'Tennsylvania  support  the  war,  instead  of  poor,  used  up, 
and  worn-out  Virginia.  The  corps  of  Generals  A.  P.  Hill  and 
Longstreet  are  now  near  this  place,  all  full  of  confidence  and  high 
spirits. 

2Wt  June,  Sunday.— No  officer  or  soldier  under  the  rank  of  a 
general  is  allowed  intoChambersburg  without  a  special  order  from 
General  Lee,  which  he  is  very  chary  of  giving;  and  I  hear  of  offi- 
cers of  rank  being  refused  this  pass. 

Moses  proceeded  into  town  at  11  a.  m.,  with  an  official. requisi- 
tion for  three  days'  rations  for  the  whole  army  in  this  neighbor^ 
hood.  These  rations  he  is  to  seize  by  force,  if  not  voluntarily 
supplied. 

1  was  introduced  to  General  Hood  this  morning;  he  is  a  tall, 
thin,  wiery -looking  man,  with  a  grave  face  and  a  light-colored 
beard,  thirly-three  years  (/Id,  and  is  accounted  one  of  the  best  and 
most  promising  officers  in  the  army.  By  his  Texun  and  Alabamian 
troops  he  is  adored ;  he  fortnerly  commanded  the  Texati  brigade, 
but  hUs  now  been  promoted  to  the  command  of  a  division.     His 

erals,I  am  able  to  affirm  that  the  relation  between  their  staffs  and  themselvee, 
and  the  wny  the  duty  is  carried  on,  is  very  similar  to  what  it  is  in  the  British 
armv.  All  the  Generals— Johiistoii,  Bragg:,  P(.lk,  Hardee,  Longstreet,  and 
Lee— are  thorough  soldiers,  and  their  staffs  are  composed  <»f  gentlemen  of 
position  and  education,  who  have  now  been  trained  into  excellent  and  zealous 
staff  officers. 


123 

troops  are  accused  of  bein^  a  wild  set,  and  diffinilt  to  manage ; 
and  it  is  the  great  object  of  the  chiefs  to  check  their  innate  plun- 
dering propensities  by  every  means  in  their  power. 

I  went  into  Chambersbnrg  at  noon,  and  found  Lawley  ensconced 
in  the  Franklin  Hotel.  Both  he  and  I  had  much  difficulty  in  get- 
ting into  that  establishment — the  doors  being  locked*  and  only 
opened  with  the  greatest  caution.  Lawley  had  had  a  most  pain- 
ful jou-rney  in  the  ambulance  yesterday,  and  was  much  exhausted. 
No  one  in  the  hotel  would  take  the  slightest  notice  of  him,  and  all 
scowled  at  me  in  a  most  disagreeable  manner.  Half  a  dozen  Penn- 
sylvanian  viragos  surrounded  and  assailed  me  with  their  uniied 
tongues  to  a  deafening  degree.  Nor  would  they  believe  me  when 
I  told  them  1  wiis  an  English  spectator  and  a  non-combatant  ; 
they  said  I  must  be  either  a  Rebel  or  a  Yankee — by  which  ex- 
pressi(m  I  learned  for  tiie  first  time  that  the  term  Yankee  is  as 
much,  used  as  a  reproach  in  Pennsylvania  as  in  the  South.  The 
sight  of  gold,  which  I  exchanged  for  their  grenbacks,  brought 
about  a  change,  and  by  degrees  they  became  quite  affable.  They 
seemed  very  ignorant,  and  confused  Texans  with  Mexicans 

After  leaving  Lawley  pretty  comfortable,  I  walked  about  the 
town  and  witnessed  the  pressing  operations  of  Moses  and  his  niyr- 
midons.  Neither  the  Mayor  nor  the  corporation  were  to  be  found 
anywhere,  nor  were  the  keys  of  the  principal  stores  fdrlhcoming 
until  Moses  began  to  apfily  the  axe."  The  citizens  were  lolling 
about. the  streets.in  a  listless  manner,  and  showing  no  great  signs 
of  discontent.  They  had  left,  to  their  women  tiie  task  of  resist- 
ing the  con'imissaries — a.  duty  which  they  were  fully  competent  to 
»  perfom. .  No  soldiers  but  those  on  duty  were  visible  in  the  streets. 

In  the  evening  I  called  again  to  see  Lawley,  and  found  in  his 
room  an  Austrian  officer,  in  the  full  uniforni  of  the  Hungarian  hns- 
sdrs.  He  had  got  a  year's  leave  of  absence,  and  has  just  suc- 
ceeded in  crossing  the  Potomac,  though  not  without  much  diffi- 
culty. When  he  stated  his  intention  of  we.aring  his  uniform,  I 
explained  to  him  the  invariable  custom  of  the  Confederate  sal- 
diers,  of  never  allowing  the  smallest  peculiarity  of  dress  of  ap- 
pearance to  pass  without  a  torrent  of  jokes,  which,  however  good- 
humored,  ended  in  becoming  rather  monotonous. 

I  returned  to  camp  at  6  p.  m,  Major  Moses  did  not  get  back 
till  very  late,  much  depressed  at  the  ill-success  of  his  mission. 
He  had  searched  all  day  most  indefatigably,  and  had  endured 
much  contumely  from  the  Union  ladies,  who  called  him  a  "thiev- 
ish little  rebel  scoundrel,"  and  other  opprobrious  epithets.  But 
this  did  not  annoy  him  so  much  as  the  manner  in  which  every 
thing  he  wanted  had  been  sent  away  or  hidden  in  private  houses, 
which  he  was  not  allowed  by  G-eneral  Lee's  orders  to  search.  He 
had  only  managed  to  secure  a  quantity  of  molasses,  sugar,  and 
whisky.     Poor  Moses  was  thoroughly  exhausted  ;  but  he  endured 


124 

the  chaff  of  his  brother  officers  with  ranch  good  humor,  and  they 
nnade  liim  continually  repeat  the  different  names  he  had  been  called. 
He  said  that  at  first  the  women  refused  his  .Confederate  "trash" 
with  great  scorn,  but  they  euded  in  being  very  particular  about 
the  odd  cents. 

2^tli  June,  ^ronday. — We  are  still  at  Chambersburg.  Lee  has 
issued  a  remarkably  good  order  on  non-^-etaliatlon,  whicli  is  gen- 
erally well  received  ;  but  I  have  heard  of  complaints  from  fire- 
ealers,  who  want  vengeance  for  their  wrong's;  and  when  one  con- 
siders the  numhers  of  officers  and  soldiers  with  this  army  who 
have  been  totally  ruined  by  the  devastations  of  Northern  troops, 
one  cannot  be  much"  surprised  at  this  feeling. 

I  went  into  Chambersburg  again,  and  witnessed  the  singular 
good  beiiavior  of  the  troo|)s  towards  the  citizens.  I  heard  the  sol- 
diers sayfng  to  one  another,  that  they  did  not  like  being  in  a  town  in 
which  they  were  very  naturally  detested.  To  any  one  who  has  seen 
as  1  have  the  ravages  _  of  the  Northern  troops  in  Southern  towns, 
this' forbearance  seems  most  commendable  and  surprising.  Yet 
these  Pennsylvanian  Dutch*  don't  seeni'the  "  least  thankful,  and 
);eally  appear  to  be  unaware  that  their  own  troops  have  been  for 
two  years  treating  Southern  towns  with  t-en  times  more  harshness. 
They  are  the  most  unpatriotic  people  I  ever  saw,  and  openly  state 
th?it  they  don't  care  which  side  wins,  provided  they  are  left  alone. 
They  abuse  Lincoln  treipendously. 

Of  course,  in  such  a  large  army  as  this  there  must  be  many  in- 
stances of  bad  characters,  who  are  always  ready  to  plunder  and 
pillage  whenever  they  can  do  so  without  being  caught  :  the  strag- 
glers, also,  who  remain  behind  when  the  army  has  left.,  will  doubt-* 
less  do  niuch-harm.  It  is  imposMble  to  prevent  this;  but  every 
thing  that  can  be  done  is  done  to  protect  private  property  and 
non-combatants,  and  I  can  say  from  my  own  observation,  with 
wonderful  success.  I  hear  instances,  however,  in  which  soldiers, 
meeting  well-dressed  citizens,  have  made  a  "long  arm"  and 
changed  hats,  much  to  the  clisgust  of  the  latter,  who  are  still  more 
annoyed  wlien  an  exchange  of  boots  is  also  proposed  ;  their  super- 
fine broadcloth  is  never  in  any  danger. 

General  Longstreet  is  generally  a  particularly  taciturn  man  , 
but  this  evening  he  and  I  had  a  long  taik  about,  Texas,  where  he 
had  beeii  quartered  a  long  time.  He  remembered  marly  people 
whom  I  had  met  quite  well,  and  was  nmch  amused  by  the  descrip- 
tion of  my  travals  through  that  country.  I  compIinKnited  him 
upon  the  ma  ner  in  which  the  Confederate  sentries  do  their  duty, 
and  said  that  they  were  quite  as  strict  as,  and  ten  times  more  po- 
lite  than,  regular   soldiers.     He  replied,  laughing,  that  a  sentry, 

*  This  part  of  Penngylvnnia  i»<  nuicli  peopled  v^'ith  the  descendants  of  Ger- 
mans, who  speak  an  unintelligible  lauj^uage. 


125 

after  refusing  you  leave  to  enter  a  catnp,  might  very  likely,  if  pro- 
perly asked,  show  you  another  way  in,  by  which  you  might  avoid 
mee:ing  a  sentry  at  all.  :      . 

I  saw  (general  Penflleton  and  General  Pickett  to-day.  Pendle- 
ton is  Chief  of  Artillery  to  the  army,  and  Was  a  West  Pointer; 
but  in  more  peaceable  times  he  fills  the  post  of  Epis(!opal  clergy- 
man in  Lexington.  Virginia.  Unlike  General  Polk,  he  unites  the 
military  and  clerical  professions  together,  and  continues  to  jireach 
whenever  he  gets  a  chance.  On  these  occasions  he  wears  a  sur- 
plice over  his  uniform. 

General  Pickett  comniands  one  of  the  divisions  in  Longstreet's 
corps  *  He  wears  his  hair  in  long  ringlets,  and  is  altogether  rather 
a  desperate  looking  character,  lie  is  the  officer  who,  as  Captain 
Piijkett  of  the  United  States  army,  figured  in  the  difficulty  be- 
tween the  British  and  United  States  in  the  San  Juan  Island  affair, 
under  General  Harney,  four  or  five  years  ago. 

30//i  June,  Tuesday. — This  morning,  before  marching  from 
Chambersburgy  Genenil  Longstrcet  introduced  me  to  theConmian- 
der-iu-Chief.  General  Lee  is,  almost  without  exception,  the  hand- 
somest man  of  his  age  I  ever  saw.  He  is  fifty-six  years  old,  tall, 
broad  shouldered,  very  well  made,  well  set  up — a  thorough  soldier 
in  appearance  ;"  and  his  manners  ar^  most  courteous  and  full  of 
dignity.  He  is  a  perfect  gentleman  in  every  respect.  I  imagine 
no  man  has  so  few  e-nemies.  or  is  so  universally  esteemed. — 
Throughout  the  South,  all  agree  in  pronouncing  him  to  be  as  near 
perfection  as  a  man  can  be.  He  has  none  of  the  small  vices,  such 
as  smoking,  drinking,  chewing,  or  swearing,  and  his  bitterest  enemy 
never  accused  him  of  any  of  the  greater  ones.  He  generally  wears 
a  well  worn  long  gray  jacket,  a  high  black  felt  hat,  and  blue  trou- 
sers tucked  into  his  Wellington  boots.  I  never  saw  him  carry 
arms;t  and  theonvy  mark  of  his  military  rank  are  the  three  stars 
on  his  collar.  He  rides  a  handsome  horse,  which  is  extremely  well 
groomed.  He  himself  is  very  neat  in  his  dress  and  person,  and  in 
the  most  arduous  marches  he  always  looks  smart  and  clean ,| 

In  the  old  army  he  was  always  considered. one  of  its-  best  offi- 
cers ;  and  at  the  outbreak  of  these  troubles,  he  was  Lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  2d  cavalry.  He  was  a  rich  man,  biit  his  tine  estate 
was  one  of  the  first  to  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands.  I  believe  he 
has  never  slept  in  a  house  since  he  has  commanded  the  Virginian 
army,  and  he  invariably  declines  all  offers  of  hospitality,  for  fear 

*  M'Laws,  Hood,  and  Pickett,  are  the  three  divisional  commanders  or  Ma- 
jor Geiverals  iu  Longstreet's  corps  d'armie. 

t  I  never  saw  either  Lee  or  Longstreet  carry  arms.  A.  P.  Hill. generally 
wears  a  sword. 

t  I  observed  this  during  the  three  days'  fighting  at  Gettysburg,  and  in  the 
retreat  afterwards,  when  every  one  else  looked,  and  was  extremely  dirty. 


126 

the  person  offering  it  may  afterwards  ^et  into  trouble  for  having 
shelt^^red  the  Rebel  General.  The  relations  between  him  and 
Longslreet  are  qiiite  touching — they  are  almost  always  together. 
Longstreet's  corps  com|)laln  of  this  someiimes^  as  they  say  that 
they  Seldom  get  a  chance  of  detached  service,  which  falls  to  the 
lot  of  Ewell.  Jt  is  impossible  to  please  Longstreet  more  than  by 
praising  Lee.  I  believe  these  two  Generals  to  i)e  as  litlle  ambitious 
and  as  thoroughly  ugseltish  as  any  men  in  the  world.  Both  long 
for  a  succes.sful  termination  of  the  war,  in  order  that  they  i^iay  re- 
tire into  obscurity.  Stonewall  Jackson  (until  his  death  the  third 
in  conmiand  of  iheir  army)  was  just  such  another  simple-minded 
servant  of  his  country.  Ir.  is  understood  that  General  Lee  is  a  re- 
ligious man,  tliou^Hi  not  so  demonstraiive  in  that  respect  as  Jack- 
son ;  and,  unlike  his  late  brother  in  arms,  he  is  a  memi)er  of  the 
Church  of  England.  His  only  faults,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  arise 
from  his  excessive  amiability. 

S«)me  Texan  soldiers  were  sent  this  morning  into  Chambersburg 
to  destroy  a  number  of  barrels  of  excellent  whiskey,  which  could 
not  be  carried  away.  This  was  a  pretty  good  trial  for  their  dis- 
cipline, and  they  did  think  it  rather  hard  lines  that  the  only  time 
they  had  been  allowed  into  the  enemy's  town  was  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  their  beloved  whiskey.  However,  tiiey  did  their  duty 
like  good  t>oldiers. 

We  marchecl  six  miles  on  the  road  towards  Get'tysburg,  and  en- 
camjied  at  a  village  called  (I  think)  Greenwood.  1  rode  Lawley's 
old  horse,  he  and  the  Austrian  using  the  doctor's  ambulance.  In 
the  evening  General  Longsireet  told  m>?  that  he  had  just  leceived' 
in'elligence  that  Hooker  had  been  disrated,  and  that  Meade  was 
appointed  in  his  place.  Of  course  he  knew  both  of  them  in  the 
old  army,  and  he  says  that  Meade  is  an  honorable  and  respectable 
man,  though  not,  i)erhaps,  so  bold  as  Hooker.  / 

1  had  a  long  talk  with  many  officers  about  the  approaching  bat- 
tle, which  evidently  cannot  now  be  delayed  long,  and  \yill  take 
place  on  this  road  instead  of  in  the  direction  of  y.arrisburg,  as 
we  had  supposed.  Ewell,  who- has  laid  York  as  well  as  Carlisle 
under  contribution,  has  been  ordered  to  reunite.  Every  one,  of 
course,  speaks'  with  confidence.  1  remarked  thai  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  for  them  if  o-n  this  occasion  they  had  cavalry  to  follow 
up  the  broken  infantry  in  the  event  of  their  succeeding  in  beating 
them.  But  to  my  surprise  they  all  s]ioke  of  their  cavalry  as  not 
efficient  for  that  pur|)ose.  In  fact,  JStuart's  men,  though  excellent 
at  making  raids,  cajHuring  w^agi^vis  and  stores,  and  cutting  off  com-, 
umnications,  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  charging  infantry  under  any 
circumstances.  Unlike  the  cavalry  with  Bragg's  army,  they  wear 
swords,  byf  seem  to  have  little  idea  of  using  them — they  hanker 
after  their  carbines  and  revolvers.  They  constantly  ride  with 
their  swords  between  their  left  leg  md  the  saddle,  which  has  a 


127 

very  funny  appearance;  but  their  horses  are  generally  good,  and 
they  ride  well.  The  infantry  and  artillery  of  this  army  don't  seem 
to  respect  the  cavalry  very  much,  and  often  jeer  at  them.  I  was 
forced  to  abandon  my  horse  here,  as  hd  was  now  lame  in  three 
legs,  besides  having  a  very  sore  back. 

1st  July,  Wednesday. — We  did  not  leave  our  camp  till  noon,  as 
nearly  all  General  Hill's  cor,  s  had  to  pass  our  quarters  on  its 
march  towards  Gettysburg.  One  division  of  Ewell's  also  had  to 
join  in  a  litlle  beyond  Greenwood,  and  Longstreet's  corps  had  to 
bring  up  the  rear.  During  the  morning  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Colonel  Walton,  who  used  to  command  the  well-known  Wash- 
ington Artillery,  but  he  is  now  chief  of  artillery  to  Longstreet's 
corj)s  d'armee.  He  is  a  big  man,  ci-devant  auctioneer  in  New  Or- 
leans, and  1  understand  he  pines  to  return  to  his  hammer. 

Soon  after  starting  we  got  into  a  pass  in  the  South  Mountain,  a 
continuation,  I  believe,  of  the  Blue  Ridge  range,  which  is  broken 
by  the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  scenery  through  the 
pass  is  very  fine.  The  first  troops,  alongside  of  whom  we  rode, 
l3elonged  to  Johnson's  division  of  EwelPs  corps.  Among  them  I 
saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  celebrated  "Stonewall"  Bi'igade,  for- 
merly commanded  by  Jackson.  In  appearance  the  men  differ  lit- 
tle from  other  Confederate  soldiers,  except,  perhaps,  that  the  bri- 
gade contains  more  elderly  men  and  fewer  boys.  All  (except,  I 
think,  one  regiment)  are  Virginians.  As  they  have  nearly  always 
been  on  detached  duty,  few  of  them  knew  General  Longstj-eet,  ex- 
cept by  reputation.  Numbers  of  them  asked  me  whether  the 
General,  in  front  w^as  Longstreet;  and  when  T  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  many  would  run  on  a  hundred  yards  in  order  to  take  a 
good  look  at  him.  Tins  1  take  to  be  an  immense  compliment 
from  any  soldier  on  a  long  march. 

At  2  p.  M.  fffing  became  distinctly  audible  in  our  front,  but  al- 
though it  increased  as  we  progressed,  it  did  not  seem  to  be  very 
heavy. 

A  spy  who  was  with  us  insisted  upon  there  being  "a  pretty  tidy 
bunch  of  blue-bellies  in  or  near  Gettysburg,"  and  he  declared  that 
he  was  in  their  society  three  days  ago. 

After  passing  Johnson's  division,  we  came  up  to  a  Florida  bri- 
gade, which  is  now  in  Hill's  corps;  but  as  it  had  formerly. served 
under  Longstreet,  the  men  knew  him  well.  Some  of  them  (after 
the  General  had  passed)  called  out  to  their'comrades,  "Look  out 
for  work  now,  boys,  foj;  here's  the  old  bull  dog  again." 

At  3  p.  M.  we  began  to  meet  wounded  men  coming  to  the  rear, 
and  the  number  of  these  soon  increased  most  raj)idly,  some  hob- 
bling alone,  others  on  stretchers  carried  by  the  ambulance  corps, 
and  others  in  the  ambulance  wagons.  Many  of  the  latter  were 
stripped  nearly  naked,  and  displayed   very  bad  wounds.     This 


128 

spectacle,  so  revolting  to  a  person  unaccustomed  to  such  sights, 
produced  no  impression  whatever  upon  the  advancing-  troops,  who 
certainly  go  under,  tire  with  the  most  perfect  nonclialence.  They 
show  no  enthusiasm  or  excitement,  i)ut,  the  most  complete  imliifer-  . 
ence.  This  is  the  etVeet  of  two  years'  almost  uninterrupted  tight- 
ing. 

AVe  now  began  to  meet  Yankee  prisoners  coming  to  the  rear  in 
-•jonsiderahle  nuinhers.  ]\Iany  of  them  were  wounded,  but  they 
seemed  alreatly  to  be  on  excellent  terms  with  their  .captors,  with 
wliom  they  had  commenced  swapi)ing  cant-eens,  tohacco,  &c. 
Among  them  was  a  Pennsylvanian  Colonel,  a  miserable  object 
from  a  wound  in  his  face.  In  answer  to  a  question.  I  heard  one  of 
them  remarli;  with  a  laugh,  "  We're  jn-etty  nigh  whipped  already." 
We  next  came  to  a  Confederate  soldier  carrying  a  Yankee  color, 
belonging,  I  tiiink,  to  a  Tcnnsylvanla  regiment,  which  he  told  me 
he  had  just  captured. 

At  4.0O  p.  M.  we^came  in  sight  of  Gettysburg,  a1id  joined  Gen- 
eral Lee  and  General  Hill,  who  weieon  the  top  of  one  of  the  ridges 
which  form  the  peculiar  feature  of  the  country  around  Gt^ttysburg. 
We  could  see  tlie  enemy  retreating  up  one  of  the  opposite  ridges, 
pursued  by  the  Confederates  with  loud  yells.  The  position  into 
which  the  enemy  had  been  driven. was  evidently  a  strong  one.  His 
right  appeared  to  rest  on  a  cemetery,  on  the  top  of  a  high  ridge 
to  the  right  of  Get4",ysburg,  as  we  looked  at  it. 

Geneial  Hill  now  came  up  and  told  me  he  had  been  very  un- 
well alPday,  and  in  fact  he  looks  very  delicate.  He  said  he  had 
had  iw'fi  of  his  <! (visions  engaged,  and  had  driven  the' entliiy  four 
miles  into  his  present  position,  capturing  a  great  many  prisoners, 
^soilie  cannon,' and  some  colors.  He  said,  however,  that  the 
Yankees  bad  fought  with  a  determination  unusual  to  .them.  He 
pointed  out  a  railway  cutting,  in  which  they  had  made  a  good 
stand;  also,  a  field  in  the  centre  of  which  he  had  seen  a  man  plant 
t,he  regimental  color,  round  which  the  regiment  had  fought  for 
some  time  with  much  obstinacy,  "iind  when  at  last  it  was  obliged 
to  retreat,  the  ct)lor-bearer  retired  last  of  all,  turning  round  every 
now  and  then  to  shake  his  list  at  the  advancing  rebels.  General 
Hill  said  he  felt  quite  sorry  wh(3n  he  saw  this  gallaat  Yankee  meet 
his  doom. 

GeneralEwell  had  come  up  at3.30,on  the  enemy's  right  (with  part 
of  his  corps),  and  comi)!eted  his  discomfiture.  General  ileynolds, 
one  of  the  best  Yankee  generals,  was  r^orted  .killed.  Wliilst 
we  were  talking,  a  message  arrived  from  General  Ewell,  request- 
ing Hill  to  press  the'  enemy  in  the  front,  whilst  he  performed  the 
same  operation  oji  his  right.  The  pressure  was  accordingly  ap- 
plied in  a  mild  degree,  but  the  enemy,  were  too  strongly  posted, 
and. it  was  too  late  in  the  evening  for  a  regular  y-ttack.     The  town 


129' 

of  Gettysburg  was  now*occiipi*^d  by  Ewell,  and  was  full  of  Yan- 
kee dead  and  wounded..  I  climbed  up  a  tree  in  the  most  command- 
ing place  I  could  find,  and  could  form  a  pretty  good  general  idea 
of  the  enemy's  position,  although  the  tops  of  the  ridges  being  cov^- 
ered  with  pine-woods,  it  Was  very  difficult  to  see  anything  of  the 
troops  concealed  in  them.  The  tiring  ceased  about  dark',  at  which 
time  I  rode  back  with  General  Longstreet  and  his  Staff  to  his 
headquarters  at  Cashtown,  a  little  village  eight  miles  from  Get- 
tysburg. At  that  time  troops  were  pouring  along  the  road,  and 
weie  being  marched  towards  the  position  they  are  to  occupy  to- 
morrow. 

In  the  light  to-day  nearly  6,000  prisoners  had  been  taken,  and 
10  guns.  Al)out  20,000  men  must  have  been  on  the  field  on  the 
Confediirate  side.  The  enemy  had  two  corps  d'armee  engaged. 
All  the.prisoners  belong,  I  think,  to  the  1st  and  11th  corps.  This 
day's  work  is  called  a  "brisk  little  scurry,"  and  all  anticipate  a 
"big  battle"  to-morrow. 

I  observed  that  the  artillery-men  in  charge  of  the  horses  dig 
themselvt^s  little  holes  like  graves,  throwing  up  tl:^e  earth  at  the 
ui)per  end.  They  ensconce  themselves  in  these  holes  when  under 
fire. 

At  supper  this  evening.  General  Longstreet  spoke  of  the  enemy's 
position  as  being  "very  formidaide."  He  also  said  that  they 
would  doubtless  intrench  themselves  strongly  during  the  night.* 
The  Staff  officers  spoke  of  the  battle  as  a  certainty,  and  the  uni- 
versal feeling  in  the  army^was  one  of  profound  contempt  for  an 
enemy  whom  they  have  beaten  so  constantly,  and  under  so  many 
disadvantages. 

2d  Jahj,  Thursday. — We  all  got  up  at  3.30  a.  m.,  and  break- 
fasted a  little  before  daylight.  Lawley  insisted  on  riding,  notwith- 
standing his  illness.     Captain  and  I  were  in  a  dilemma  for 

horses;  but  I  was  accommodated  by  Major  Clark  (of  this  Staff), 
whilst  the  stout  Austrian  was  mounted  by  Major  Walton.  The 
Austrian,  in  spite  of  the  early  hour,  had  shaved  his  cheeks  and 
cired  his  moustaches  as  beautiiully  as  if  he  was  on  parade  at 
Vienna. 

C'donel  Sorrell,  the  Austrian,  and  I  arrived  at  5  a.  m.  at  the 
same  commanding  position  we  were  on. yesterday,  and  I  climbed 
up  a  tree  in  company  with  Captain  Schreibert,  of  the  Prussiau 
aruiy.  Just  below  us  were  seated  Generals  Lee,  Hill,  Lonf  street, 
and  Hood,  in  consultation — the  two  latter  assisting  their  deliber- 
ations by  the  truly  America^  custom  of  whittlivg  sticks.     General 

Heth  was  also  present;    he  was  wounded  in  the  head  yesterday, 

i. . 

*  I  have  the  best  reason  for  suppesino:  that  the  fight  came  off  prematurely, 
and  that  neither  Lee  nor  Longstreet  intended  that  it  should  have  begun  that 
day.    1  also  think  that  their  plans  were  deranged  by  the  events  of  the  first, 

9 


130 

and  although  not  allowed  to  command  hisj)rigade,  he  insists  upon 
coming  to  the  field. 

At  7  A.  M.  I  rode  over  part  of  the  ground  with  General  Long- 
street,  and  saw  him  disposing  of  McLaws's  division  for  to-day's 
fight.  The  enemy  occu|)ied  a  series  of  high  ridges,  the  tops  of 
which  were  covered  with  trees,  hut  the  intervening  valleys  between 
their  ridges  and  ours  were  mostly  open,  and  partly  uniJer  cultiva- 
tion. The  cemetery  was  on  their  right,  and  their  left  appeared  to 
rest  upon  a  high  rocky  hill.  The  enemy's  forces,  which  were  now 
supposed  to  comprise  nearly  the  whole  Potomac  army,  were  con- 
centrated into  a  space  apparently  not  more  than  a  couple  of  miles 
in  length.  The  Confederates  inclosed  them  in  a  sort  of  semicircle, 
and  the  extreme  extent  of  our  position  must  have  been  from  five 
to  six  miles  at  least.  Ew^^li  was  on  our  left;  his  headquarters  in 
a  church  (with  a  high  cupola)  at  Gettysburg  ;  Hill  in  the  centre  ; 
and  Longstreet  on  the  right.  Our  ridges  were  also  covered  with 
pine-woods  at  the  tops,  and  generally  on  the  rear  slopes.  The  ar- 
tillery of  both  sides  confronted  each  other  at  the  edges  of  these 
belts  of  trees,  the  troops  being  completely  hidden.  The  enemy 
was  evidently  intrenched,  but  the  Southerners  had  not  broken 
ground  at  all.  A  dead  silence  reigned  till  4.45  p.  jni.,  and  no  one 
would  have  imagined  that  sMch  masses  of  men  and  such  a  power- 
ful artillery  were  about  to  commence  the  work  of  destruction  at 
that  hour. 

Only  two  divisions  of  Longstreet  were  present  to-day — viz., 
McLaws's  and  Hood's — Pickett  being  still  in  the  rear.  As  the 
whole  morning  was  evidently  to  be  occujjied  in  disposing  the  troops 
for  the  attack,  I  rode  to  the  fextreme  right  with  Colonel  ]\[anning 
and  Major  Walton",  where  we  ate  quantities  of  cherries,  and  got  a 
feed  of  corn  for  our  horses.  We  also  bathed  in  a  small  stream, 
but  not  without  some  trepidation  on  my  part,  for  we  were  almost 
beyond  the  lines,  and  were  exposed  to  the  enemy's  cavalry. 

At  !•  p.  M.  I  met  a  qua'ntity  of  Yankee  prisoners  who  jiad  been 
picked  up  straggling.  They  told  me  they  belonged  to  Sickles's 
corps  (3cl,  I  think),  and  had  arrived  from  Emmetsburg  during  the 
night.  About  this  time  skirmishing  began  along  part  of  the  line, 
but  not  heavily. 

At  2  p.  M.  General  Longstreet  advised  me,  if  I  wished  to  have  a 
good  view  of  the  battle,  to  return  to  my  tree  of  yesterday.  I  did 
so,  andgremained  there  with  Lawley  and  Captain  Schreibert  during 
the  rest  of  the  afternoon.  But  until  4.45  p.  m.  all  was  profoundly 
still,  and  we  began  to  doubt  whether  alight  was  coming  otf  to-day 
at  all.  At  that  time,  however,  Longstreet  suddenly  commenced 
a  heavy  cannonade  on  the  right.  Ewell  immediately  took  it  up  on 
the  left.  The  enemy  replied  with  at  least  equal  fury,  and  in  a  few 
moments  the  firing  along  the  whole  line  was  as  heavy  as  it  is  pos- 


131 

sible  to~conceive.  A  dense  smoke  arose  for  six  miles ;  there  was 
little  wind  to  drive  it  away,  and  tiie  air  seemed  full  of  shells — 
each  of  which  appeared  to  have  a  different  style  of  going,  and  to 
make  a  different  noise  from  the  others.  The  ordnance  on  both 
sides  is  of  a  very  varied  description.  Every  now  and  then  a  cais- 
son would  blow  up — if  a  Federal  one,  a  Confederate  yell  would 
immediately  follow.  The  Southern  troops  when  charging,  or  to 
express  their  delight,  always  yell  in  a  nianner -peculiar  to  them- 
selves. The  Yankee  cheer  is  much  more  like  oursj  but  the  Con- 
federate officers  declare  that  the  rebel  yell  has  a  pariicular  merit, 
and  always  produces  a  salutary  and  useful  effect  upon  their  ad- 
versaries. A  corps  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  a  "good  yelling 
regiment." 

So  soon  as  the  firing  began,  General  Lee  joined  Hill  just  be- 
low our  tree,  and  he  remained  there  nearly  all  the  time,  looking 
tlirough  his  field-glass — so  .  etimes  talking  to  Hill  and  sometiir.es 
to  Colonel  Long  of  his  Staff.  But  generally  he  sat  quite  alone 
on  the  stump  of  a  tree.  What  I  remarked  esi)ecially  was,  that 
during  tlie  whole  time  the  firing  continued,  he  only  sent  one  mes- 
sage, and  only  received  one  report.  It  is  evidently  his  system  to 
arrange  the  plan  thoroughly  with  the  three  corps  commanders, 
and  then  leave  to  them  the  duty  of  modifying  and  carrying  it 
out  to  the  best  of  their  abilities. 

When  the  cannonade  was  at  its  beight,  a  Confederate  band  of 
music,  between  the  cemetery  and  ourselves,  began  to  play  polkas 
and  waltzes,  which  sounded  very  curious,  accompanied  by  the 
hissing  and  bursting  of  the  shells. 

At  5.45  all  became  comparatively  quiet  on  our  left  and  in  the 
cemetery  ;  but  volleys  of  musketry  on  the  right  told  us  that 
Longstreet's  infantry  were  advancing,  and  the  onward  progress  of 
the  smoke  showed  that  he  was  progressing  favorably ;  but  about 
6.30  there  seemed  to, be  a  check,  and  even  a  slight  retrograde 
movement.  Soon  afteV  7,  General  Lee  got  a  report  by  signal 
from  Longstreet  to  say  ''ive  are  doing  ic ell :'  A  little  before  dark 
the  firing  dropped  off  in  every  direction,  and  soon  ceased  altoge- 
ther. We  then  received  intelligence  that  Longstreet  had  carried 
every  thing  before  him  for  some  time,  capturing  several  batteries, 
and  driving  the  enemy  from  his  positions;  but  when  Hill's 
Florida  brigade  and  some  other  troops  gave  way,  he  was  forced 
to  abandon  a  small  portion  of  the  ground  he  had  won,  together 
with  all  the  captured  guns,  except  three.  His  troops,  however, 
bivouacked  during  the  night  on  ground  occupied  by  the  enemy 
^tjiis  morning. 

.  Every  one  deplores  that  Longstreet  will  expose  himself  in  such 
a  reckless  manner.  To-day  he  led  a  Georgian  regiment  in  a  charge 
against  a  battery,  hat  in  hand,  and  in  front  of  everybady.  General 


132 

Barksdale  was  killed  and  Semnies  mortally  wounded ;  but  the 
most. serious  loss  was  that  of  General  Hood,  who  was  badly  wound- 
ed in  the  arm  early  in  the  day.  I  heard  that  his  Texans  are  in 
despair.  Lawley  and  I  rode  back  to  ^he  General's  camp,  which 
had  been  moved  to  within  a  mile  of  the  scene  of  action.  Long- 
street,  however,  with  most  of  his  Staft',  bivouacked  on  the  field. 

Major  Fairfiix  arrived  at  about  10  p..M.in  a  very  bad  humor. 
He  had  under  his  charge  ai)out  1,000  to  1,500  Yankee  prisoners, 
who  had  been  taken  today  ;  among  them  a  general,  whonj  I  heard 
one  of  his  men  accusing  of  having  been  "  so  G — d  d — d  dnmk, 
that  he  had  turned  his  guns  ui)on  hixS  own  men."  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  accuser  was  such  a  thundering  blackguard,  and  pro- 
posed taking  such  a  variety  of  oaths  in  order  to  esca|)e  from  the 
U.  S.  army,  that  he  is  not  worthy  of  much  credit.  A  large  train 
of  horses  and  mules,  &c.,  arrived  to-day,  sent  in  by  General  Stuart, 
and  captured,  it  is  understood,  by  his  cavalry,  which  had  penetra- 
ted to  within  six  miles  of  Washington. 

3d  My,  Friday. — At  6  a.  m.  I'  rode  to  the  field  with  Colonel 
Manning,  and  went  over  that  portion  of  the  ground  which,  after  a 
fierce  contest,  had  been  won  from  the  enemy  yesterday  evening. 
The  dead  were  being  buried,  but  great  numbers  were  still  lying 
about;  also  many  mortally  wounded,  for  whom  nothing  could  be 
done.  Amongst  the  latter  were  a  number  of  Yankees  dressed  in 
bad  imitations  of  the  Zouave  costume.  They  opened  their  glazed 
eyes  as  1  rode  past  in  a  painfully  imploring  manner. 

We  joined  Generals  Lee  and  Longstreet's  Staff:  they  were  re- 
connoitring and  making  preparations  for  renewing  the  attack.  As 
we  formed  a  pretty  large  party,  we  often  drew  upon  ourselves  the 
attention  of  the  hostile  sharpshooters,  and  were  two  or  three  times 
favored  with  a  shell.  One  of  these  shells  set  a  brick  building  on 
fire  which  was  situated  between  the  lines.  This  building,  was  filled 
wounded,  principally  Yankees,  who,  I  am  afraid,  must  have  Per- 
ished miserably  in  the  flames.  Colonel  Sorrell  had  been  slightly 
wounded  yesterday,  but  still  did  duty.  Major  Walton's  horse  was 
killed,  but  there  were  no  other  casualties  amongst  my  particular 
friends. 

The  plan  of  yesterday's  attack  seems  to  have  been  very  simple 
— first  a  heavy  cannonade  all  along  the  line,  followed  by  an  ad- 
vance of  Longstreet's  two  divisions  and  part  of  Hill's  corps.  In 
consequence  of  the  enemy's  having  been  driven  back  some  distance, 
Longstreet's  corps  (part  of  it)  was  in  a  mucb  more  forward  situation 
than  yesterday.  But  the  range  of  heights  to  be  gained  was  still 
most  formidable,  and  evidently  strongly  intrenched. 

The  distance  between  the  Confederate  guns  and  the  Yankee  po- 
sition—e.  €,,  between  the  woods  crowning  the-  opposite  ridges — 


133 

was  at  least  a  mile — quite  open,  gently  undulating,  and  exposed 
to  artillery  the  whele  distance.  Tiiis  was  tiie  ground  which  had 
to  be  crossed  in  to-day's  attack.  Piclvett's  division,  which  has  just 
come  up,  was  to  bear  the  brunt  in  Longstreet's  attack,  together 
with  Heth  and  Pettiirrew  in  Hill's  CDrps.  Pickett's  division  Vas 
a  weak  one  (under  5,000),  owing  to  the  al)sence  of  two  brigades. 

At  noon  all  Longstreet's  dispositions  were  made;  his  troops  for 
attack  w«re  deployed  into  line,  and  lying  down  in  the  woods ;  his 
batteries  were  ready  to  open.  The  general  then  dismounted  and 
went  to  sleep  fur  a  short  time.  The  Austrian  officer  and  I  now 
rodd  off  to  get,  if  possible,  into  some  commanding  position  from 
whence  we  could  see  the  whole  thing  without  being  exposed  to  the 
tremendous  fire  which  was  about  to  commence.  After  riding  about 
for  half  an  hour  without  being  able  to  discover  so  desirable  a 
situation,  we  determined  to  make  for  the  cupola,  near  Gettysburg, 
Ewell's  headquarters.  Just  before  we  reached  the  entrance  of  the 
town,  the  cannonade  opened  with  a  fury  which  sur[)assed  even  that 
of  yesterday. 

Soon  after  pas^'ng  through  the  toll-gate  at  the  entrance  of  Get- 
tysburg, we  found  that  we  had  got  into  a  heavy  cross-fife;  shells 
both  from  Federal  and  Confederate  passing  over  our  heads  with 
great  frequency.  At  length  two  shrapnel  shells  l)urst  quite  close 
to  us,  and  a  ball  from  one  of  them  hit  the  officer  who  was  conduct- 
ing us..  We  then  turned  round  and  clianged  oiu*  views  with  regard 
to  the  cupola — the  fire  of  one  side  being  bad  enough,  but  preferable 
to  that  of  both  sides.  A  small  boy  of  twelve  years  was  riding 
with  us  at  the  time:  this  urchin  took  a  diabolical  interest  in  the 
bursting  of  the  shells,  and  screamed  with  delight  when  he  saw 
them  take  effect.  I  never  saw  this  boy  again,  or  found  out  who  he 
was. 

The  road  at  Gettysburg  was  lined  with  Yankee  dead,  and  as 
they  had  been  killed  on  the  1st,  the  poor  fellows  had  already  be- 
gun to  be  very  offensive.  We  then  returned  to  the  hill  I  was  on 
yesterday.  But  finding  that,  to  see  the  actual  fighting,  it  was  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  go  into  the  thick  of  the  thing.  I  determined 
to  make  my  way  to  General  Longstreet.  It  was  then  about  2.30. 
After  passing  General  Lee  and  his  Staff,  I  rode  on  through  the 
woods  in  the  direction  in  which  1  had  left  Longstreet.  I  soon 
began  to  meet  many  wounded  men  returning  from  the  front;  many 
of  them  asked  in  piteous  tones  the  way  to  a  doctor  or  an  ambu- 
lance. The  further  I  got,  the  greater  became  the  number  of  the 
wounded.  At  last  I  came  to  a  perfect  stream  of  them  flocking 
through  the  woods  in  numbers  as  great  as  the  crowd  in  Oxford- 
street  in  the  middle  of  day.  Some  were  walking  alone  on  crutches 
composed  of  two  rifles,  others  were  supported  by  men  less  badly 
wounded  than  themselves,  and  others  were  carried  on  stretchers 


134 

by  the  ambulance  corps ;  but  in  no  case  did  I  see  a  sound  man 
helping  tlie  wounded  to  the  rear,  unless  he  carried  the  red  badge 
of  the  ambulance  corps.  'J'hey  were  still  under  a  heavy  fire;  the 
shells  were  continually  brin^Mng  down  great  limi>s  of  trees,  and 
carr^Mng  further  destrucfi(m  amongst  tliis  melancholy  procession. 
I  saw  all  this  in  much  less  time  than  i|^  takes  to  write  it,  and  although 
astonished  to  meet  such  vast,  numbers  of  wounded,  1  had  rot  seen 
enough  to  give  me  an  idea  of  the  real  extent  of  the  mischief. 

Wheii  I  got  close  up  to  General  Longstreet,  I  saw  one  of  his 
regiments  advancing  through  the  woods  in  good  order;  so,  think- 
ing 1  was  just  in  lime  to  sen  the  attack,  1  remarked  to  the  General 
that  ''  1  wouUlnt  have  missed  this  for  any  thing '^  Longstreet 
Was  seated  at  the  top  of  a  snake  fence  at  the  edge  of  the  wood, 
and  looking  perfectly  calm  and  imi)erturbed.  lie  replied,  laugh- 
ing, *'  TJic  devil  you  wouldn't!  I  would  like  to  have  missed  it 
very  much  ;  we've  attacked,  and  been  repulsed  :  look  there  .'" 

For  the  first  time  I  then  had  a  view  of  the  open  space  between 
the  two  positions,  and  saw  it  covered  with  Confederates  slowly 
and  sulkily  returning  towards  us  in  small  broke)*  parlies,  under  a 
heavy  fire  of  artillery.  But  the  fire  where  we  were  was  not  so  bad 
as  further  to  the  rear ;  for  although  the  air  seemed  ulive  with  shell, 
yet  the  greater  number  burst  behind  us. 

The  General  told  me  that  Pickett's  division  had  succeeded  in 
carrying  the  enemy's  position  and  capturing  his  guns,  but  after 
remaining  there  twenty  minutes,  it  had  been  forced  to  retire,  on 
tlie  retreat  of  Ht-th  and  Pettigrew  on  its  left.  No  person  could 
have  been  more  calm  or  self-possessed  than  General  Longstreet 
under  these  trying  circumstances,  aggravated  as  they  now  were 
by  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  who  l)egan  to  show  a  strong  dis- 
position to  advance.  1  could  now  thoroughly  appreciate  the  term 
bulldog,  which  1  had  heard  applied  to  hiiM  by  the  soldiers.  Diffi- 
culties seem  to  make  no  other  impression  upon  him  than  to  make 
him  a  little  more  savage. 

Major  Walton  was  the  only  officer  with  him  when  I  came  up-^ 
all  the  rest  had  been  put  into  the  charge.  In  a  few  minutes  ]\liijor 
Latrobe  arrived  on  foot,  carrying  his  saddle,  having  just  had  his 
horse  killed.  Colonel  Sorrell  was  also  in  the  s^ime  predicament, 
and  Captain  Goree's  horse  was  wounded  in  the  mouth. 

The  General  was  making  the  best  arrangements  in  his  power  to 
resist  the  threatened  advance,  by  advancing  some  artillery,  rally- 
ing the  stragglers,  &c.  1  remember  seeing  a  General  (Pettigrew, 
I  think  it  was)*  come  up  to  him,  and  report  that  "  he  was  unable 
to  bring  his  menup  again."  Longstreet  turned  upon  him  and  re- 
plied, with  some  sarcasm  :  "  Very  well;  never  mind,  then,  General; 

*  This  officer  was  afterwards  killed  at  the  passage  of  the  Potomac. 


135 

^ 

^ust  let  them  remain  where  they  are :  the  enemy^s  going  to  advancct 
and  it  will  spare  you  the  trouble*'' 

He  asked  for  something  to  drink  :  I  gave  him  some  rum  out  of 
my  silver  flask,  which  I  hedged  he  would  keep  in  remembrance  of 
the  occasion ;  he  smiled,  and,  to  my  great  satisfaction,  accepted 
ihQ  memorial.  He  then  went  off  to  give  some  orders?  to  McLaws's 
division.  Soon  afterwards  I  joined  General  Lee,  who  had  in  the 
mean  while  come  to  that  part  of  the  field  on  becoming  aware  of  the 
disaster.  If  Longstreet's  conduct  was  admirable,  that  of  General 
Lee  was  perfectly  sublime.  He  was  engaged  in  rallying  and  in 
encouraging  the  broken  troops,  and  was  riding  about  a  little  in 
front  of  the  wood,  quite  alone — the  whole  of  his  Staff  being  en- 
gaged in  a  similar  manner  further  to  the  rear.  His  face,  which  is 
always  placid  and  cheeful,  did  not  show  signs  of  the  slightest  dis- 
appointment, care,  or  annoyance  ;  a  #  he  was  addressing  to  every 
soldier  he  met  a  few  words  of  encouragement,  such  as,  '*  All  this 
will  come  right  in  the  end  :  we'll  talk  it  over  afterwards ;  but,  in 
the  mean  time,  all  good  men  must  rally.  We  want  all  good  and 
true  men  just  now,"  &c.  He  spoke  to  all  the  wounded  men  that 
passed  him,  and  the  slightly  wounded  he  exhorted  "to  bind  up  their 
hurts  and  take  up  a  musket"  in  this  emergency.  Very  few  failed 
to  answer  his  appeal,  and  I  saw  many  badly  wounded  men  take 
off  their  hats  and  cheer  him.  He  said  to  me,  •*  This  has  been  a 
sad  day  for  us.  Colonel — a  sad  day  ;  but  we  can't  expect  always 
to  gain  victories."  He  was  also  kind  enough  to  advise  me  to  get 
into  some  more  sheltered  position,  as  the  shells  were  bursting 
round  us  with  considerable  frequency. 

Notwithstanding  the  misfortune  which  had  so  suddenly  beftillen 
him,  General  Lee  seemed  to  observe  every  thing,  however  trivial. 
AVhen  a  mounted  officer  began  licking  his  horse  for  shying  at  the 
bursting  of  a  shell,  he  called  out.  "Don't  whip  him,  Captain; 
don't  whip  him.  I've  got  just  such  another  foolish  horse  myself, 
an'd  whipping  does  no  good." 

I  happened  to  see  a  man  lying  flat  on  his  face  in  a  small  ditch, 
and  I  remarked  that  I  didn't  think  he  seemed  dead;  this  drew 
General  Lee's  attention  to  the  man,  who  commenced  groaning  dis- 
mally. Finding  appeals  to  liis  patriotism  of  no  avail,  General  Lee 
had  him  ignominiously  set  on  his  legs  by  some  neighboring  gun- 
ners. 
^I  saw  General  Wilcox  (an  officer  who  wears  a  short  round  jacket 
and  a  battered  straw  hat)  come  up  to  him,  and  explain,  almost 
crying,  the  state  of  his  brigade.  General  Lee  immediately  shook 
hands  ^^ith  him  and  said  cheerfully,  "Never  mind,  General,  all 
this  has  been  m\  fault — it  is  I  that  have  lost  this  fight,  and  you 
must  help  me  out  of  it  in  tlTe  best  way  you  can."  In  this  man- 
ner I  saw  General  Lee  encourage  and  reanimate  his  somewhat  dis- 


136 

pirited  troops,  and  magnanimously  take  upon  his  own  shoulders 
the  whole  weight  of  the  rei)n]se.  It  was  impossil)le  to  look  at  him 
or  to  listen  to  him  without  feeling  the  strongest  atlmiratiou,  and  I 
never  saw  any  man  fail  him  except  the  man  in  the  diich. 

It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  critical  state  of  affairs  as  they 
ap[.»eared  aiK)ut  this  time.  If  the  enemy  or  their  gt^neral  had 
shown  any  enterprise,  there  is  no  sa^ying  what  migiit  have  hap- 
pened. General  Lee  and  his  officers  were  evidently  fully  impress- 
ed with  a  sense  of  the  situation  ;  yet  t)iere  was  much  Jess  noise, 
fuss,  or  confusion  of  orders  than  at  an  ordinary  field-day;  the  men, 
as  they  wer«'  rallied  in  the  wood,  were  l)rought  up  in  detachments, 
and  lay  down  quietly  and  coolly  in  tlie  positions  assigned  to  them. 

We  heard  that  Generals  Garnett  and  Armistead  were  killed, 
and  General  Kemper  mortally  wounded;  also,  that  Pickett's  divi- 
sion had  only  one  field-oflRcer  unhurt.  Nearly  all  this  slaughter 
took  place  in  an  open  space  about  one  mile  square,  and  within  one 
hour. 

At  6  P.  M.  we  heard  a  long  and  continuous  Yankee  cheer,  which 
we  lAt  first  imagined  was  an  indication  of  an  advance  ;  but  it  turned 
out  to  bt  their  reception  of  a  general  officer,  whom  we  saw  riding 
down  the  line,  followed  by  about  thirty  horsemen.  Soon  after- 
wards I  rode  to  the  extreme  front,  where  there  were  four  pieces  of 
rifled  cannon  almost  without  any  infantry  support.  To  the  non- 
withdral  of  these  guns  is  to  be  attributed  the  otherwise  surprising 
inactivity  of  the  enemy.  I  was  immediately  surrounded  by  a  ser- 
geant and  about  half-a-dozen  gunners,,  who  seemed  in  excellent 
spirits  and  full  of  confidence,  in  spite  of  their  exposed  situation. 
The  sergeant  expressed  his  ardent  hope  that  the  Yankees  might 
have  spirit  enough  to  advance  and  receive  the  dose  he  had  in 
readiness  for  them.  They  spoke  in  admiration  of  the  advance  of 
Pickett's  division,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  Pickett  himself  had 
led  it.  When  they  observed  General  Lee  they  said,  "  We've  not 
lost  confidence  in  the  old  man  :  this  day's  work  won't  do  him  no 
harm.  ♦  Uncle  Ilobt^rt'  will  get  us  into  Washington  yet;  you  bet 
be  will!"  &c.  Whilst  we  were  talKing,  the  enemy's  skirmishers 
began  to  advance  slowly,  and  several  ominous  sounds  in  quick  suc- 
cession told  us  that  we  were  attractijig  their  attention,  and  that  it 
was  necessary  to  break  up  the  conclave.  I  therefore  turned  round 
and  took  leave  of  these  cheery  and  plucky  gunners. 

At  7  p.  ivi.,  General  Lee  received  a  report  that  Jolwiston's  divi- 
sion of  Ewell's  corps  had  been  successful  on  the  left,  and  had  gained 
important  advantages  there.  Tiring  entirely  ceased  in  our  front 
about  this  time;  but  we  now  heard  some  brisk  musketry  on  our 
right,  which  1  afterwards  learned  proceeded  from  Hood's  Texans, 
who  had  managed  to  surround  sojue  enterprising  Yankee  cavalry, 


^      137 

and  were  slauofhtering  them  with  great  satisfaction.    Only  eighteen 
out  of  four  hundred  are  said  to  have  escaped. 

At 7.30,  all  idea  of  a  Yankee  attack  being  over,  I  rode  hick  to  . 
Moses's  tent,  and  found  that  worthy'  commissary  in  very  low 
spirits,  alt  sorts  of  exaggerated  rumors  having  reached  him.  On 
my  way  I  met  a  great  many  wounded  men,  most  anxious  to  in- 
quire after  Longstreeli,  wlio  was  reported  killed  ;  when  I  assured 
them  he  was  quite  well,  they  seemed  to  forget  their  own  jiain  in 
the  evident  })leasure  they  felt  in  the  safety  of  their  chief  No 
words  that  1  can  use  will  adequately  express  the  extraordinary 
patience  and  fortitude  with  which  the  wounded  Confederates  bore 
their  sufterings. 

I  got  something  to  eat  with  the  doctors  at  10  p.  m.,  the  first  for 
fifteen  hours. 

I  gave  up  my  horse  to-day  to  his  owner,  as  from  death  and  ex- 
haustion the  staff  are  almost  without  horses. 

Wi  July,  Saturday.— T  was  awoke  at  daylight  by  Moses  com- 
plaining that  his  valuable  trunk,  containing  much  public  money, 
had  been  stolen  from  our  tent  whilst  we  slept.  After  a  search  it 
was  found  in  a  wood  hard  by,  broken  open  and  minus  the  money. 
Dr.  Barksdale  had  been  robbed  in  the  same  manner  exactly.  This 
is  evidently  the  work  of  those  rascally  stragglers,  who  shirk  going 
under  fire,  plunder  the  natives,  and  will-  hereafter  swagger  as  the 
hei'oes  of  Gettysburg. 

Lawley,  the  -Austrian,  and  [walked  up  to  the  front  about  8 
o'clock,  and  on  our  way  we  met  Generaf  J^ongstreet,  who  was  in  a 
^igh  state  of  amusement  and  good  humor.  A  flag  of  truce  had 
just  come  over  from  the  enemy,'  and  its  bearer  announced  among 
other  things  that  "  General  Longstreet  was  wounded  and  a  pris- 
oner, but  would  be  taken  care  of."  General  Longstreet  sent  back 
word  that  he  was  extremely  grateful,  but  that,  being  neither 
wounded  nor  a  prisoner,  he  was  quite  able  to  take  care  of  himself. 
The  iron  endurance  of  General  Longstreet  is  most  extraordinary  ; 
he  seems  to  require  neither  food  nor  sleep.  Most  of  his  staff  now 
fall  fast  asleep  directly  they  get  off  their  horses,  they  are  so  ex- 
hausted, from  the  last  three  days'  work. 

Whilst  Lawley  went  to  headquarters  on  business,  I  sat  down 
and  had  along  falk  with. General  Pendleton  (the  parson)  cWef  of 
artillery.  He  told  me  the  exact  number  of  guns  in  action  yester- 
day. He  said  that  the  universal  opinion  is  in  favor  of  the  twelve- 
pounder  Napoleon  guns  as  the  best  and  simplest  sort  of  ordnance 
for  field  purposes.*     Nearly  all  the  artillery  with  this  army  has 

*  Tbo  N,-\p()leon  12-pouiider3  are  smooth-bore  braas  guns,  with  chambers, 
very  light,  and  with  long  i^ange.  They  were  invented  or  recommended  by 
Lnuis  N«poleon  years  ago  A  large  uumber  are  being  cast  at  Augusta  and 
elsewhere.  i 


138 

either  been  captured  from  the  enemy  or  cast  from  old  6-pounders 
'taken  at  the-(^arly  part  of  the  war. 

At  10  A.  M.  Lawley  returned  from  headquarters,  brin^in^  the 
new  that  thearmy  is  to  commence  moving  in  the  direction  of 
Virjiinia  this  evening.  This  step  is  imperative  from  want  of  am- 
muniiion.  But  it  was  hoped  that  the  enemy  miglit  attack  during 
the  day,  especially  as  this  is  the  4th  of  July,  and  it  was  calculated 
that  tiiere  was  still  ammunition  for  one  day's  fighting.  The  ord- 
nance train  had  already  commenced  moving  i)ack  towards  Cash- 
town,  and  Ewell's  immense  train  of  plunder  had  been  proceeding 
towards  Ilagerstitwn  by  the  Fairfield  road  ever  since  an  early 
hour  this  morning. 

Johnson's  division  had  evacuated  during  the  night  the  position 
it  had  gained  yesterday.  It  appears  that  for  a  time  it  was  actu- 
ally in  possession  of  the  cemetery,  bur  had'  been  forced  to  retire 
from  thence  from  want  of  support  by  Pender's  division,  which  had 
been  retarded  by  that  offic^er's  wound.  The  whole  of  our  left  was 
therefore  thrown  back  considerably. 

At  1  p.  M.  the  rain  began  to  descend  in. torrents,  and  we  took  re- 
fuge in  the  hovel  of  an  ignorant  Pennsylvania  boor.  The  cottage 
was  full  of  soldiers,  none  of  whom  had  the  slightest  idea  of  the 
contem|ilated  retreat,  and  all  were  talking  of  Washingten  and  Bal- 
timore with  the  greatest  confidence. 

At  2  p.  M.  we  walked  to  General  Longstreet's  camp,  which  had 
been  removed  to  a  |)lace  ttiree  miles  distant,  on  the  Fairfield  road. 
General  Long<treer  talked  to  me  for  a  long  time  about  the  battle. 
He  said  the  i^iistake  they  had  made  was  in  not  concentrating  the. 
army  more,  and  making  the  attack  yesterday  with  oO,000  men 
instead  of  15,000.  The  advance  had  been  in  three  lines,  and  the 
troops  of  IlilTs  corps  wJio  gave  way  were  young  soldiers,  who  had 
never  been  under  tire  before,  lie  thought  the  enemy  would  have 
attacked  had  the  guns  been  withdrawn.  Had  they  done  so  at  that 
particular  moment  immediately  after  the  repulse,  it  would  have 
been  awkward  ;  but  in  that  case  he  had  given  orders  for  the  ad- 
vance of  Hood's  division  and  M'Laws's  on  the  right.  1  think, 
after  all,  that  General  Meade  was  right  not  to  advance — his  men 
would  never  have  stood  tiie  tremendous  fire  of  artillery  they  would 
have  been  exposed  to. 

Rather  over  7,000  Yankees  were  captured  during  the  three 
days ;  3,500  took  the  parole ;  the  remainder  were  now  being 
marched  to  Richmond,  escorted  by  the  remains  of  Pickett's  divi- 
sion. It  is  impossible  to  avoid  seeing  that  the  cause  of  this 
check  to  the  Confederates  lies  in  the  utter  contempt  felt  for  the 
enemy  by  all  ranks. 

Wagons,  horses,  mules  and  cattle   captured  in  Pennsylvania, 


139 

the  solid  advantages  of  this  campaign,  l^ave  bfeen  passing  slowly 
along  this  road  (Fairfiekl)  all  day;  those  taken  by  Ewell  are 
particularly  admired.  So  interminable  was  this  train  that  it  soon 
became  evident  that  we  should  not,  be  al)le  to  start  till  late  at 
night.  As  soon  as  it  became  dark  we  all  lay  roud  a  big  fire,  and 
1  heard  reports  coming  in  from  the  diflPerent  generals  that  the  en- 
emy was  retiring,  and  had  been  doing  so  all  day  long.  MT^aws 
reported  nothing  in  his  front  but  cavalry  videttfs.  But  this,  of 
course,  C(uild  make  no  difference  to  General  Lee's  plan  ;  ammuni- 
tion he  must  have — he  had  failed  to  capture  it  from  the  enemy 
(according  to  precedent ;)  and,  as  his  commimications  with  Vir- 
ginia wfTe  intercepted,  he  was  compelled  to  fall  back  towards 
Winchester,  and  draw  his  supplies  from  thence.  General  ^lilroy 
had  kindly  left  an  ample  stock  at  that  town  when  he  made  his 
precipitate  exit,  some  weeks  ago.  The  army  was  also  encumbered 
with  an  enormous  wagon  train,  the  spoils  of  Pennsylvania,  whi^h 
it  is  highly  desirable  to  get  safely  over  the  Potomac. 

Shortly  after  9  p.  m.  the  rain  began  to  descend  in  torrents. — 
Lawley  and  1  luckily  got  into  the  doctors'  covered  buggy,  and 
began  to  get  slowly  under  way  a  little  after  midnight. 

^th  July,  Sunday. — The  night  was  very  bad — thunder  and  light- 
ning," torrents  of  rain — the  road  knee  deep  in  mud  and  water,  and 
often  blocked  up  with  wagons  "come  to  grief."  I  juiied  the 
wretched  plight  of  the  unfortunate  soldiers  who  were  to  follow  us. 
Our  progress  was  naturally  very  slow  indeed,  and  we  took  eight 
ho*urs  to  go  as  many  miles. 

At  8  a.  m.  we  halted  a  little  beyond  the  village  of  Fairfield, 
near  the  entrance  to  a  moumain  pass.  .  No  sooner  l^id  we  done  so 
and  lit  a  fire,  than  an  alarm  was  spread  that  Yankee  cavalry  were 
upon  us.  SeveraVshots  flew  over  our  heads,  but  we  never  could 
discover  from  whence  they  came.  News  also  arrived  of  the  cap- 
ture of  the  whole  of  Swell's  beautiful  wagons.*  These  reports 
created  a  regular  stampede  amongst  the  wagoners,  and  Long- 
street's  drivers  started  off  as  fast  as  they  could  go.  Our  medical 
trio,  however,  firmly  declin.-d  to  budge,  and  came  to  this  wise  con- 
clusion, partly  urged  by  the  pangs  of  hunger,  and  partly  from  the 
consideration  lh.il,  if  the  Yankee  cavalry  did  come,  the  crowded 
state  of  the  road  in  our  rear  would  prevent  our  escape.  Soon 
afterwards  some  Confederate  cavalry  were  pushed  to  the  front, 
who  cleared  the  pass  after  a  slight  skirmish. 

At  noon,  Generals  Lee  and  Longstreet  arrived,  and  halted  close 
to  us.  Soon  afterwards  Ewell  came  up.  This  is  the  first  time  I 
ever  saw  him.  "He  is  rather  a  remarkable  looking  old  soldier, 
with  a  bald  head,  a  prominent  nos^,  and  rather  a  haggard,  sickly 

*  It  afterwards  turued  oUt  that  all  escaped  but  thirty -eight. 


140 

face;  having  so  lately Jost  his  leg  above  the  knee,  he  is  still  a 
coiiipleie  cripple,  and  falls  off  his  horse  occasionally.  Directly  he 
clisin(mnls  lie  has  to  be  put  on  crutches.  He  was  Stonewall 
Jackson's  coadjutor  during  the  celebrated  Valley  campaigns,  and 
he  used  to  be  a  great  swearer — in  fact,  he  is  said  to  have  been  the 
only  person  who  was  unable  to  restrain  that  propensity  before 
Jaclvson  ;  but  since  his  late  (rather  romantic)  marriage,  he  has  (to 
use  the  American  exjiression)  ''joined  the  Churchy  When  I 
saw  iiim  he  was  in  a  great  state  of  disgust  in  consequence  of  the 
suj)iM)sed  loss  of  his  wagons,  and  refused  to  be  comforted  by  Gen- 
eral Lee. 

1  joined  Longstrei't  again,  and,  mounted  on  Lawley's  venerable 
horse,  started  at  o  p.  m.  to  ride  through  the  pass.  At  4  P.  m.  we 
stopi^ed  at  a  place  where  the  roads  fork,  one  leading  to  Emmets- 
burg,  and  the  other  to  Hagerstown.  Major  Moses  and  I  entered  a 
farm  house,  in  which  we  found  several  women,  two  wounded  Yan- 
kees, aiid  one  dead  one,  the  result  of  this  morning's  skirmish. 
One  of  the  su1!erers  was  frightfully  wounded  in  the  head  ;  the 
other  was  iiit  in  theluiee;  the  latter  told  me  he  was  an  Irishman, 
and  had  served  in  the  Bengal  Europeans  during  the  Indian  Muti- 
ny, lie  now  belonged  to  a  Michigan  cavalry  reginn^nt,  and  had 
already  imbibed  American  ideas  of  Ireland's  wrongs,  and  all  that 
sort  of  trash,  lie  told  me  that  his  oMx'.ers  were  very  bad,  and 
that  the  idea  in  the^ army  was  that  M'Clellan  had  assumed  the 
chief  command. 

The  w<mien  in  this  house  were  great  Abolitionists.  When  Ma- 
jor Fairfax  rode  up,  he'inquired  of  one  of  them  whether  thetv*'.pse 
was  thai  of  a  Confederate  or  Yankee  (the  body  was  in  the  ve- 
randa, covered  wi'li  a  whif#  sheet.)  The  woman  made  a  gestuie 
with  her  foot  and  replied,  "  if  it  was  a  r^r-bel,  do  you  think  it  would 
be  here  long?  "  Fairfa.x  then  said,  "  Is  it  a  woman  who  speaks 
in  such  a  manner  of  a  dead  body  which  can  do  no  one  any  harm?" 
She  thereupon  colored  up,  and  said  she  wasn't  in  earnest.  At  6 
o'clock  we  rode  on  again  (by  the  Hagerstown  road)  and  came  up 
with  General  Eongstreet  at  7.30.  The  road  was  full  of  soldiers 
marching  in  a  parficularly  lively  manner— the  wet  and  mud  seemed 
to  have'  produced  no  etlect  whatever  on  their  spirits,  which  were 
as  boisterous  as  ever.  Tiiey  had  got  hold  of  colored  prints  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  which  they  were  passing  about  from  company  to  com- 
pany with  many  remarks  upcm  the  personalbeauty  of  Uncle  Abe. 
The  same  old  chaff  was  going  mi  of  "Gome  out  of  that  hat — I 
know  you're  in  it — I  sees  your  legs  a-dangling  down,"  &c.  When 
we  halted  for  the  night,  skirmishing  was  going  on  in  front  and  rear 
— Stuart  in  front  and  Ewell  in  rear.  Gur  bivouac  being  near  a 
large  tavern.  General  Longstreet  had  ordered  some  supper  there  for 
himself  tind  his  staff;  but  when  we  w^nt  to  devour  it,  we  discov- 
enxl  Gen.  M'Laws  and  his  officers  rapidly  finishing  it.     We,  how-  • 


141 

ever,  soon  got  more,  the  PeTfnsylvania  proprietors  being  particu- 
larly anxious  to  propitiate  the  General,  in  hopes  tliat  he  would 
spare  their  live  stock,  which  had  been  condemned  to  death  by  the 
ruthless  Moses. 

During  supper,  women  came  rushing  in  at  intervals,  saying, 
"  Oh,  good  heavens,  now  they're  killing  our  fat  hogs.  Which  is 
the  General?  which  is  the  Great  Officer?  Our  milch  cows  are 
now  going."  To  all  which  expressions  I^ongstreet  replied,  shak- 
ing his  head  in  a  nielancholy  manner,  "  Ves,fnadam,  it's  very  sad 
— very  satl ;  and  this  sort,  of  thing  has  been  going  on  in  Virginia 
more  than  two  years — very  sad."  We  all  slept  in  the  open,  and 
the  heavy  rain  produced  no  eifect  upon  our  slumbers. 

I  understand  it  is  impossible  to  cross  the  lines  by  flag  of  truce. 
T  therefore  find  myself  in  a  dilemma  about  the  ex|)iralioii  nf  my 
leave. 

&th  July,  Monday. — Several  horses  were  stolen  last  night,  mine 
nearly  so.  It  is  necessary  to  be  very  careful,  in  order  to  prevent 
this  misfortune.  We  started  at  6.30,  bin  got  on  very  slowly,  so 
blocked  up  was  the'-road  with  wagons,  son c  of  which  had  l)een 
captured  and  hurnt  by  the  enemy  yesterday,  it  now  turned  out 
that  all  Ewell's  wagons  escaped  except  tliiriy  eight,'  although,  at 
one  time,  they  had  been  all  in  the  enemy's  hands. 

At  8.30  ^e  halted  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  Generals  Lee, 

Longstreet,  Hill  and  Wilcox  had  a  consultation.     1  spoke  ro 

about  my  difficulties  with  regard  to  getting  home,  and  ihe  neces- 
sity of  doing  so,  owing  to  the  approaching  expiration  of  uiy  leave. 
He  told  me  that  the  army  had  no  intention  at  luvscntof  retreat- 
ing for  good,  and  advised  me  to  stop  with  them  and  see  what 
turned  up.  He  also  said  that  some  of  the  enemy's  dispatches  had 
been  intercepted,  in  which  the  following  words  occur:  "The  nc^ 
ble  but  unfortunate  army  of  the  Potomac  has  again  heen  obliged 
to  retreat  before  superior  numbers."  I  partichlarly  (thserved  the 
marching  to-day  of  the  21st  Mississippi,  which  was  uncon)monly 
good.  This  regiment  all  wear  short  round  jackets,  a  nu»st.  unusual 
circumstance,  for  they  are  generally  unpopular  in  the  ISouth. 

At  12  o'clock  we  halted  again,  and  all  set  to  work  to  eat  cher- 
ries, which  was  the  only  food  we  got  between  5  a.  m.  and  11  p.  m. 

I  saw  a  niost  laughable  spectacle  this  aflernoan^— viz.,  a  negro 
dressed  in  full  Yankee  uniform,  with  a  rifle  at  full  cock,  leading 
along  a  barefooted  white  man,  with  whom  he  had  evidently  chang- 
ed clothes.  General  Longstreet  stopped  ti.e  pair,  and  asked  the 
black  man  what.it  meant.  He  replied,  "The  two  soldiers  in 
charge  of  this  here  Yank  have  got  drunk,  so  for  fear  he  should  es-. 
cape  1  have  took  care  of  him,  and  brought  him  through  that  little 
town."     The, consequential  manner  of  the  negro,  and  the  supreme 


142 

contempt  with  which  be  spoke  to  his  prisoner,  were  most  amusing. 
This  litrle  episode  of  a  Soulhern  slave  leadin.tr  a  white  Yankee  sol- 
dier throu^'h  a  Northern  village,  a/owe  and  of  his  own  accord, 
would  not  have  heen  gratifying  to  an  abolitionist.  Nor  would  the 
.sympathizers  lioth  in  England  and  in  the  North  feel  encouraged 
if  tht'V  could  liear  the  language  of  dt'testation  and  contemi)t  with 
which  tlie  numerous  negroes  with  the  Southern  armies  sjieak  of 
their  liberators.* 

I  saw  General  Hood  in  his  carnage  ;  he  looked  rather  bad,  and 
has  been  sutiering  a  good  deal ;  the  dt)ctors  seem  to  doubt  whether 
they  will  be  able  to  >ave  his  arm.  1  also  saw  General  Hampton, 
of  the  cavalry,  who  has  been  shot  in  the  hip.  and  has  two  sabre- 
cuts  on  the  head,  but  he  was  in  very  good  s})irits. 

A  short  time  before  we  reached  Hagerstown  there  was  some 
tiring  in  front,  together  with  an  alarm  that  the  Yankee  cavalry 
was  upon  us.  The  ambulances  were  sent  back;  but  some  of  the 
wounded  jumped  out,  and,  producing  the  rifles  which  they  had  not 
parted  with,  they  prepared  to  fight.  After  a  good  deal  of  dlesul- 
tory  skirmishing,  we  seated  ourselves  upon*  a  hill  overlooking 
Hagerstown,  and  saw  the  enemy's  cavalry  driven  through  the 
town  })ursued  by  yelling  Confederates.  A  good  many  Yankee 
prisoneis  now  passed  us  ;  one  of  them,  who  was  smoking  a  cigar, 
was  a  lieutenant  of  cavalry,  dressed  very  smartly,  and  his-  hair 
bruslud  with  the  greatest  care  ;  he  formed  rather  a  contrast  to  his 
ragged  escort,  and  to  ourselves,  who  had  not  washed  or  shaved 
for  ever  so  long. 

About  7  p.  iM.  wol^rode  through  Hagerstown,  in  the  streets  of 
wliich  were  several  uead  horses  and  a  tew  dead  men.  After  pro- 
ceeding about  a  mile  beyond  the  town  we  halted,  and  General 
J^ongsireet  sent  four  cavalrymen  up  a  lane,  with  directions  to  re- 
port every  thing  th^y  saw.  We  then  dismounted  and  lay  down. 
About  ten  minutes  later  (being  nearly  dark)  we  heard  a  sudden 
i-u;j;li — a  panic — and  then  a  regular  stampede  commenced,  in  the 
midst  of  which  1  descried  our  four  cavalry  heroes  crossing  a  field 
as  fast  as  they  could  ga  lop.  All  was  now  complete  confusion  ; — 
officers  mounting  their  horses,  and  pursuing  those  which  had  got 

*  From  wliat  I  have  seen  of  tlie  Southern  negroes,  I  am  ef  opinion  that  the 
Confederates  could,  if  they  chose,  convert  a  great  number  into  soldiers;  and 
fnmi  the  att'ection  which  undoubtedly  exists  as  il  general  rule  between  the 
slaves  and  their  masters,  I  think  that  they  would  prove  nu»re  efficient  than 
black  troops  under  any  other  circumstances.  But  1  do  not  imagine  that  such 
an  expeiiment  will  be  tried,  except  as  a  very  la.^t  resort,  partly  on  account  of 
the  great  value  of  the  negroes,  and  partly  because  the  fcoutherners  consider 
it  improper  to  intioduce  such  an  eleuient  on  a  large  scale  into  civilized  war- 
fare. Any  person  w  ho  bab  seen  negro  features  convulsed  with  rage,  may  furm^ 
a  slight  estimate  of  what  the  result  would  be  of  arming  a  vast  number  of 
blacks,  rousing  their  passi»ns,  and  then  allowing  them  free  scope. 


143 

loose,  and  soldiers  climbing  over  fences  for  protection  against  the 
supposed  advancing  Yankees.  In  the  middle  of  the  din  1  lieard 
an  artillery  officer  shouting  to  his. "cannoneers"  to  stand  by  him, 
and  plant  the  ^nins  in  a  proper  position  fur  enfilading  the  lane.  I 
also  distinguished  Longstreet  walking  a^out,  hustled  by  the  excited 
crowd,  and  remarking,  in  angry  tones,  which  could  scarcely  be 
heard,  and  to  which  no  attention  was  paid,  "Now,  you  don't 
know^what  it  is — you  don't  know  what  it  is."  Whilst  the  row  and 
confusion  were  at  their  height,  the  object  of  all  this  alarm  at  length 
emerged  from  the  dark  lane,  in  the  shape  of  a  domestic  four-wheel 
carriage,  with  a  hanliless  load  of  females.  The  stampede  had, 
however,  spread,  increased, in  the  rear,  and  caused  much  harm  and 
delay. 

Cavalry  skirmishing  went  on  until  quite  dark,  a  determined 
attack  having  been  made  l>y  the  enemy,  who  did  his  best,  to  pre- 
vent the  trains  from  crossing  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport.  It 
resulted  in  the  success  of  the  Confederates ;' but  every  impartial 
man  confesses  that  these  cavalry  lights  are  miserable  affairs. 
Neither  party  has  any  idea  of  serious  charging  with  the  sabre. 
They  approach  one  another  with  considerable  boldness,  until  they 
get  to  within  about  forty  yards*,  and  then,  at,  the  very  moment 
when  a  dash  i,s  necessary,  and  the  sword  alone  should  be  used, 
they  hesitate,  halt,  and  commence  a  desultory  lire  with  carbines 
and  revolvers.  An  Englisman,  named  VViiitlirup,  a  captain  in  the 
Confederate  army,  and  formerly  an  officer  in  11.  iM.'.s  22d  regiment, 
although  not  in  ihe  cavalry  himself,  seized  the  colors  of  one  of  the 
regiments,  and  rude  straight  at  the  Yankees  in  the  must  gallant 
manner,  shouting  to  the  men  to  fulluw  him.  He  continued  to  dis- 
tinguish himself  by  leading  charges  until  his  horse  was  unfortu- 
nately killed.  I  heard  his  conduct  on  this  occasion  highly  spoken 
of  by  all.  Stuart's  cavalry  ca;i  hardly  be  called  cavalry  in  the 
European  sense  of  the  word;  but^,  on  the  other  jiand,  the  country 
in  which  they  are  accustomed  to  operate  is  not  adapted  for  cavalry. 

.  was  forced  at  last  to  give  up  wearing  even  his  Austrian 

forage-cap;  for  the  last  two  days  soldiers  on  the  line  of  march  had 
been  visiting  his  ambulance  in  great  numbers,  under  the  impressiun 
(encouraged  by  the  driver)  that  he  was  a  Yankee  general.  The 
idea  now  was  that  the  army  would  remain  some  days  in  or,  near 
its  present  position  until  the  arrival  of  the  amamniiion  from  Win- 
chest  er.> 

1th  July,  Tuesday. — Lawley,  the  Austrian,  and  I  drove  into 
Hagerstuwn  this  morning,  and Oeneral  Longstreet  moved  into  "a 
new  position  on  the  Williamsport  road,  which  he  was  to  occupy 
for  the  present.  We  got  an  excellent  room  in  the  ^yashington 
Hotel  on  producing  greenbacks.  Public  opinion  in  Hagerstown 
seems  to  be  pretty  evenly  divided  between  North  and  South,  and 


144 

probably  accommo'dates  itself  to  circumstances.  For  instance, 
yesterday  the  women  waved  their  handkerchiefs  when  the  Yankee 
cavalry  were  driven  through  the  town,  and  to-day  they  went 
through  the  same  compliment  in  honor  of  3,500.  Yankee  (Gettys- 
burg) prisoners  whom  1  saw  mai'ch  through  en  route  for  Richmond. 
I  overheard  the  cnnversalion  of  some  Confederate  soldiers  about 
these  !)ris()ners.  One  remarked,  with  respect  to  the  Zouaves,  of 
whom  there  were  a  few — "Those  red-hreeched  fellows  look  as  if 
they  could  tight,  hut  they  don't  though;  no,  not  so  well  as  the 
blue-beilii-s."-  "  . 

Law  ley  introduced  me  to  General  Stuart  in  the  streets  of  Ila- 
g.  rstown  to-day.  He  is  comnionly  called  Jeb  Stuart,  on  account 
of  his  iniiials^;  he  is  a  good-looking,  jovial  character,  exactly  like 
his  photographs.  He  has  certainly  accom])lished  wonders,  vind 
done  excellent  service  in  his'  peculiar  style  of  warfare.  He  is  a 
good  and  gallant  soldier,  though  he  sometimes  incurs  ridicule  by 
his  harmless  atiectalion  and  peculiarities.  The  other  d:iy  he  rode 
through  a  Virginian  town,  his  horse  covered  with  garlands  of 
roses.  He  also  dejjarts  consideral)ly  from  the  severe  simplicity  of 
dre>s  adopted  by  other  Confederate  generals;  but  no  one  can 
deny  that  he  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  jdace."  On  a  campaign, 
he  seems  to  roam  over  the  country  according  to  his  own  discre- 
tion, and  always  gives  a  good  account  of  himself,  turning  up  al 
the  right  n)oment;  and  hitherto  he  has. never  got  himself  into  any 
serious  trouble. 

I  rode  to  General  Long>treet's  camp,  wliich  isKbout  two  miles 
in  the  direction  of  Williamsport,  and  consulted  hint  about  my  dilfi- 
culties  witli  regard  to  my  leave.  He  was  most,  good-natured  about 
it, 'and  advised  me  under  the  circumstances  to  drive  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Hancock  ;  and  in  the  event  of  !)eing  ill-treated  on  the  way, 
to  fnsist  upon  being  taken  before  Ihe  nearest  U.  S.  officer  of  the 
highest  rank,  who  would  probably  protect  me.  1  determined  to 
take  his  advice  at  rtnce  ;  so  I  took  leave  of  him  and  of  his  officers. 
Longslreet  is  generally  a  very  taciturn  and  undemonstrative  man, 
l)ut  he  was  quite  affectionate  in  his  farewell.  His  last  words  were 
a  hearty  hope  for  the  speedy  termination  of  the  war.  All  his  offi- 
cers were  equally  kind  in  their  expressions  on  my  taking  leave, 
though  the  last  sentence  uttered  by  Lat robe  was  not  entirely  re-' 
assuring — viz.,  "You  may  take  your  oath  he'll  be  caught  for  a 
spy."  . 

I  th  -n  rode  to  General  Lee's  camp,  and  asked  him  for  a  pass  to  get 
tfirough  his  lines.  We  had  a  long  talk  together,  and  he' told  me 
of  the  raid  made  by  the  enemy,  for  the  express  purpose  of  arrest- 
ing his  badly  wounded  sou  (a  Cordederate  Brigadier-general),  who 
was  lying  in  the'  house,  of  a  relation  in  Virginia.  They  insisted 
upon  carrying  him  off  in  a  litter,  though  he  had  nev^er  been  out  of 


145 

bed,  and  had  qvute  recpnt]}^  been  shot  tbrouo:b  the  thigh.  This 
seizure  was  evideiitjy  made  for  purposes  of  retaliation.  His  life 
has  since  been  threatened,  in  the  event  of  the  South  retaliating 
for  Burnside's  alleged  military  murcVrs  in  Kentucky.  But  few 
officers,  however,  speak  of  the  Northerners  with  so  much  moder- 
ation as  General  Lee;  his  extreme  amiability  seems  to  prevent  his 
speaking  strongly  against  any  one.  I  really  felt  quite  sorry  when 
I  said  good-l)y  to  so  many  gentlemen  from  whom  I  had  received 
so  much  disititerested  kindness. 

I  am  now  about  to  leave  the  Southern  S^ates,  after  traveling 
quite  alone  throughout  their  entire  length  and  breadth,  including 
Texas  and  the  trans-^Iississippi  country,  for  nearly  three  months 
and  a  half,  during  which  time  I  have  been  thrown  amongst  all 
classes  of  the  po;iulation — the  highest  and  lowest,  and  the  most 
lawless.  Alihongh  many  were  very  sore  about  the  conduct  of 
England,  I  never  received  an  uncivil  word  from  anybody,  but  on  the 
contrary,  I  have  been  treated  by  all  with  more  than  kindness*  I 
have  never  met  a  man  who  was  not^  anxious  for  a  termination  of 
the  war;  and  I  haVe  never  met  a  man,  womaij,  or  child  who  con- 
templated its  termination  as  possible  wiifhout  an  entire  separation 
from  the  now  detested  Yankee.  I  have  never  been  asked  for  aluis 
or  a  gratuity  by  any  man  or  woman,  black  or  white.  Every  one 
knew  who  I  was,  and  all  spoke  to  me  with  the  greatest  confi- 
dence. I  have  rarely  heard  any  person  complain  of  the  almost 
total  ruin  which  had  befallen  so  many.  All  are  prepared  to  un- 
dergo still  greater  sacrifices, — they  contemi  late  and  prepare  to 
receive  greater  reverses  which  it  is  impossible  to  avert.  They 
look  to  a  successful  termination  of  the  war  as  certain,  although 
few  are  sanguine  enough  to  fix  a  speedy  date  for  it,  and  nearly  all 
bargain  for  its  lasting  at  least  all  Lincoln's  presidency.  Although  I 
have  always  been  with  the  Confederates  in  the  time  of  their  mis- 
fortunes, yet  1  never  heard  any  person  use  a  desponding  word  as 
to  the  result^' the  struggle.  When  I  was  in  Texas  and  Louisiana, 
Banks  seemed  to  be  carrying  every  thing  before  him,  Grant  was 
doing  the  same  in  Mississippi,  and  I  certainly  did  not  bring  luck 
to  my  friends  at  Gettysburg.  i  have  lived  in  bivouacs  with  all 
the  Southern  armies,  which  are  as  distinct  from  one  another  as 
the  British  i.s  from  the  Austrian,  and  1  have  never  once  seen  an 
instance  of  insul)ordination. 

When  I  got  back  to  Hagerstown,  I  endeavored  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  a  horse  and  buggy  to  drive  through  the  lines.  With 
immense  difficulty  I  secured  the 'services  of  a  Mr. ,  to  take 

*  The  only  occasion  on  which  I  was  rough 'y  handled  was  when  I  had  the 
misfortune  to  enter  the  city  of  Jackson,  Missiesippi,  just  as  tlie  Federals 
evacuated  it.  I  do  not  complain  of  that  affair,  which,  under  the  circum- 
stances, was  not  to  be  wondered  at. 

10 


146 

me  to  Hancock,  and  as  much  further  as  I  chose  to  go,  for  a 
dollj^r  a  mila;  (greenbacks).  I  engaged  also  to  pay  him  the  value 
of  his  horse  and  buggy,  in  case  tl.ey  should  be  confiscated  by 
either  side.  He  was  evidently  extremely  alarmed,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  keep  him  up  to  tlTe  mark  by  assurances  that  his  horse 
would  inevitably  be  seized  by  the  Confederates,  unless  protected 
by  General  Lee's  pass  in  my  possession. 

'  8^-^  July,  Wednesday. — My  conductor  told  me  he  couldn't  go 
to-day  on  account  of  a  funeral,  but  he  promised  faithfully  to  start 
to-morrow.  Every  one' was  full  of  forebodings  as  to  my  probable 
fate  when  I  fell  into  Yankee  clutches.  Jn  deference  to  their  ad- 
vice I  took  off  my  gray  shooting-jacket,  in  which  they  said  I  was 
sure  to  be  taken  for  a  rebel,  and  I  put  on  a  black  coat ;  but  I 
scouted  all  well-meant  advice  as  to  endeavoring  to  disguise  niyself 
as  an  "American  citizen,"  or  to  conceal  the  exact  truth  in  any 
way.  I  was  aware  that  a  great  deal  depended  upon  falling  into 
the  hands  of  a  gentleman,  and  I  did  not  believe  these  were  so 
rare  in  the  Northern  army  as  the  Confederates  led  m^j  to  suppose. 

^th  July,  Thursday. — I  left  Hagerstown  at  8  a.  m.,  in  my  con- 
ductor's good  buggy,  after  saying  farewell  to  J^awley,  the  Austrian, 
and  the  numerous  Confederate  officers  who  came  to  see  me  off, 
and  wish  me  good-luck.  We  passed  the  Confederate  advanced 
post  at  about  two  miles. from  Hagerstown,  and  were  allowed  to 
pass  on  the  production  of  General  Lee's  authority.  I  was  now 
fairly  launched  beyond  the  Confederate  lines  for  the  first  .time 
since  I  had  been  in  America.  Immediately  afterwards  we  began 
to  be  asked  all  sorts  of  inquisitive  questions  about  the  rebels, 
which  I  left  to  my  driver  to  answer.  It  became  perfectly  evident 
that  this  narrow  strip  of  Maryland  is  entirely  Unionist. 

At  about  12  o'clock  we  reached  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  and 
halted  to  bate  our  horse  at  an  inn  called  Fairview.  No  sooner 
had  we  descended  from  the  buggy  than  about  twenty  rampageous 
Unionists  appeared,  who  told  us  they  had  come  up  to  get  a  good 
view  of  the  big  fight  in  which  the  G — d  d — n  rebels  were  to  be  all 
captured,  or  drowned  in  the  Potomac. 

My  appearance  evidently  did  not  please  them  from  the  very 
first.  With  alarm  I  observed  them  talking  to  one  another,  and 
pointing  at  me.  At  length  a  particularly  truculent-looking  indi- 
vidual, with  an  enormous  mustache,  approached  me,  and,  fixing 
his  eyes  long  and  steadfastly  upon  my  trousers,  he  remarked,  in 
the  suUiest  possib'e  tones,  '•  Them  breeches  is  a  d — d  bad  colore 
This  he  said  in  allusion,  not  to  their  dirty  state,  but  to  the  fact  of 
their  being  gray,  the  rebel  color.  I  replied  to  this  very  disagreea- 
ble assertion  in  as  conciliating  a  way  as  I  possibly  could ;  and  in 
answer  to  his  question  as  to  who  I  was,  I  said  that  I  was  an  Eng- 


147 

lish  traveler.  He  then  said  that  his  wife  was  an  English  lady 
from  Prestpn.  I  next  expressed  my  pride  of  being  a  countryman 
of  his  wife's.  He  then  told  me  in  tones  that  admitted  of  no  con- 
tradiction, that  Preston  was  just  forty-five  miles  east  of  London  ; 
and  he  afterwards  launched  into  torrents  of  invectives  against  the 
rebels,  who  had  run  him  out  of  Virginia;' and  he  stated  his  inten- 
tion of  killing  them  in  great  numbers  to  gratify  his  taste.  With 
some  ditficu  ty  I  prevailed  upon  him  and  his  rabid  brethren  to 
drink,  which  pacified  them  slightly  for  a  time;  but  when  the  horse 
was  brought  out  to  be  harnessed,  it  became  evident  I  was  not  to 
be  allowed  to  proceed  without  a  row.  I  therefore  addressed  the 
crowd,  and  asked  them  quietly  who  among  them  wished  to  detain 
me;  and  I  tol  1  them  at  the  same  tim^,  that  I  would  not  answer 
any  questions  put  by  those  who  were  not  persons  in  authority,  but 
that  I  should  be  most  happy  to  pxplain  myself  to  any  officer  of 
the  United  States  army.  At  length  they  allowed  me  to  proceed, 
on. the  understanding  that  my  bugiry  driver  should  hand  me  over 
to  General  Kelly,  at  Hancock.  The  driver  was  provided  with  a 
letter  for  the  general,  in  which  I  afterwards  discovered  that  I  was 
denounced  as  a  spy,  "  and  handed  over  to  the  General  to  be  dealt 
with  as  justice  to  our  cause  demands.'"  We  were  then  allowed  to 
start,  the  driver  being  threatened  with  condign  vengeance  if  he 
let  me  escape. 

After  we  had  proceeded  about  six  miles  we  fell  in  with  some 
Yankee  cavalry,  by  whom  we  were  immediately  captured,  and  the 
responsibility  of  my  custody  was  thus  removed  from  my  con- 
ductor's shoulders.  A  cavalry  soldier  .was  put  in  charge  of  us, 
and  we  passed  through  the  numerous  Yankee  outposts  under  the 
title  of  "  Prisoners.'' 

The  hills  near  Hancock  were  white  with  Yankee  tents,  and 
there  were,  I  believe,  from  8,000  to*  10,000  Federals  there.  I  did 
not  think  much  of  the  appearance  of  the  Northern  troops;  they 
are  certainly  dressed  in  proper  uniform,  but  their  clothes  are  badly 
fitted,  and  they  are  often  round  shouldered,  dirty,  and  slovenly  in 
appearance;  in  fact,  bad  imitations  of  soldiers.  Now,  the  Con- 
federate has  no  ambition  to  imitate  the  regular  soldier  at  all ;  he 
looks  the  genuine  rebel ;  but  in  spite  of  his  bare  feet,  his  ragged 
clothes,  his  old  rug,  and  tooth  brush  stuck  like  a  rose  iti  his  button 
hole,*  he  has  a  sort  of  devil-may-care,  reckless,  self-confident  look, 
which  is  decidedly  taking. 

At  5  P.M.  we  drove  up  in  front  of  the  door  of  General  Kelly's 
quarters,  and  to  my  immense  relief  I  soon  discovered  that  he  was 
a  gentleman.    I  then  explained  to  him  the  whole  truth,  conceal- 


*  This  tooth  brush  in  the  button  hole  is  a  very  common  custom,  and  has  a 
most  quaint  effect. 


148 

ing  nothing.  I  said  I  was  a  Britisli  officer  on  leave  of  absence, 
traveling  for  my  own  inst nation  ;  that  I  had  been  all  the  way  to 
Mexico,  and  entered  the  Southern  Slates  by  the  llio  Grande,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  not  breaking  any  le^^ally  established  bloc^k- 
ade.  1  told  him  1  lad  visited  all  the  Southern  armies  in  Missis- 
sippi, Tennessee,  Charleston,  and  Virginia,  and  seen  the  late  cam- 
paign as  General  Longstreet's  guest,  but  had  in  no  way  entered 
the  Confederate  servi(;e.  I  also  gave  him  my  word  that  I  had  not 
got  in  my  possession  any  letters,  either  public  or  private,  from 
any  perwn  in  the  South  to  any  person  anywhere  else.  1  showed 
him  my  British  pass|)ort  and  General  Lee's  pass  as  a  British  offi- 
cer; and  I  exi'lained  that  my  only  objeefin  coming  North  wa<  to 
return  to  England  in  time  for  the  expiration  of  my  leave;  and  I 
ended  by  exjiressing  a  hope  that  he  would  make  my  detention  a.s 
short  as  possible. 

After  considering  a  short  time,  he  said,  that  he  would  certainly 
allow  me  to  go  on,  but  that  he  coulc^  not  allow  my  driver  to  go 
back.  I  felt  immensely  relieved  at  the  decision,  but  the  counte- 
nance of  my  companion  lengthened  considerably.  It  was,  how- 
ever, settled  that  he  should  take  me  on  to  Cumberland,  and  Gen- 
eral Kelly  good-naturedly  prouiised  to  do  what  he  could  for  him 
on  his  return. 

i 

General  Kelly  then  asked  me  in  an  off-hand  manner  whether  all 
General  Lee's  army  was  at  Hajjerstown  ;  but  I  replied,  laughing, 
"You  vjf  course  understand,  General,  that  having  got  that  pass 
from  General  Lee,  I  am  bound  by  every  princijde  of  honor  not 
to  ^ive  you  any  information  which  can  be  of  advantage  to  you.' 
He  laughed  and  promised  not  to  ask  me  any  more  questions  of 
.that  sort.  He  then  sent  his  aid-de-camp  with  me  to  the  Provost 
Marshal,  who  immediately  gave  me  a  pass  for  Cumberland.  On 
my  return  to  the  General's,  1  discovered  the  perfidious  driver 
(that  zealous  Southerner  a  few  hours  previous)  hard  at  work  com- 
municating to  General  Kelly  all  he  knew,  and  a  great  deal  more 
besides  ;  but  from  what  I  heard,  1  don't  think  his  information 
was  very  valuable. 

I  was  treated  by  General  Kelly  and  all  his  officers  with  the 
greatest  good  nature  and  courtesy,  although  I  had  certanily  come 
among  them  under  circumstances  suspicious,  to  say  the  least.  I 
felt  quite  sorry  that  they  should  be  opposed  to  my  Southern 
friends,  and  I  regretted  still"  more  that  they  should  be  obliged  ta 
serve  with  or  under  a  Butler,  a  Milroy,  or  even  a  Hooker.  1  took 
leave  of  them  at  6  o'clock  ;  and  I  can  truly  say  that;  the  only  Fed- 
eral officers  I  have  ever  come  in  contact  with  were  gentlemen. 

We  had  got  four  miles  bej^ond  Hancock,  when  the  tire  of  one 
of  our  weeels  came  ofif,  and  we  had  to  stop  for  a  night  at  a  farm 


149 

house.  I  had  supper  with  the  farmer  and  his  laborers,  who  had 
just  come  in  from  the  fields,  and  the  supper  was  much  superior  to 
that  which  can  be  procured  at  the  first  hojel  at  Richmond.  All 
were  violent  Unionists,  and  perfectly  under  the  impression  that 
the  rebels  \^ere  totally  demoralized,  and  about"  to  lay  down  their 
arms.  Of  course  I  held  my  tongue,  and  gave  no  one  reason  to 
suppose  that  I  had  ever  be^n  in  rebeldom. 

10th  July,  Friday. — The  drive  from  Hancock  to- Cumberland  is 
a  very  mountainous  forty-four  miles — total  distance  from*  Hagers- 
town,  sixty-six  miles.  We  met  wi<ii  no  further  adventure  on  the 
road,  although  the  people  were  very  inquisitive,  but  I  never  opened 
my  mouth.  One  woman  in  particular,  who  kept  a  toll  bar,  thrust 
her  ugly  old  head  out  of  an  upper  window,  and  yelled  out,  "Air 
they  a-fixin'  for  another  battle  out  there?"  jerking  her  head  in  the 
direction  of  Hagerstown.  The  driver  replied  that,  although  the 
bunch  of  rebels  there  was  pretty  big,  yet  he  could  not  answer-^for 
their  fixing  arrangements,  which  he  afterwards  explained  to  me 
meant  digging  fortifications. 

We  arrived  at  Cumberland  at  7  p.  m..  This  is  a  great  coal 
place,  and  a  few  weeks  a>?o  it  was  touched  up  by  "Imboden," 
who  burnt  a  lot  of  coal  barges,  which  has  rendered  the  people 
rabid  against  the  Rebs.  •  I  started  by  stage  for  Johnstown  at 
8.30  p.  M. 

l\th  July,  Saturday .-^1  hope  I  may  never  for  my  sins  be  again 
condemned  to  travel  for  thirty  hours  in  an  American  stiige  on  a 
used-up  plank  road.  AVe  changed  carriages  at  Somerset.  All  my 
fellow  travelers  were  of  cotit'se  violent  Unionists,  and  invariably 
spoke  of  my  late  friends  as  Rebels  or  Rebs.  They  had  all  got 
into  their  heads  that  their  Potomac  army,  not  having  been  thor- 
oughly thrashed,  as  it  always  has  been  hitherto,  had  achieved  a 
tremendous  victory;  and  that  its  new  chief.  General  Meade,  who 
in  reality  was  driven  into  a  strong  position,  which  he  had  sense 
enough  to  stick  to,  is  a  wonderful  strategist.  They  all  hope  that 
the  remnants  of  Lee's  army  will  not  be  allowed  to  escape  over 
the  Potomac;  whereas,  when  1  left  the  army  two  days  ago,  no 
man  in  it  had  a  thought  of  escaping  over  the  Potomac,  and  cer- 
tainly General  Meade  was  not  in  a  position  to  attempt  to  prevent 
the  passage,  if  crossing  had  become  necessary. 

I  reached  Johnstown  on  the  Pennsylvania  railway  at  6  p.  m., 
and  found  that  town  in  a  great  state  of  excitement  in  consequence 
of  the  review  of  two  militia,  companies,  who  were  receiving  gar- 
lands from  the  fair  ladies  of  Johnstown  in  gratitude  fortheir  dar- 
ing conduct  in  turning  out  to  resist  Lee's  invasion.  Most  of  the 
men  seemed  to  be  respectable  mechanics,  not  at  all  adapted  for  an 
early  interview  with  the  rebels.     The  garlands  supplied  were  as 


150 

big  and  apparently  as  substantial  as  a  ship's  life-bnoys,  and  the 
recipients  looked  particularly  helpless  after  they  had  got  them. 
Heaven  help  those  Pennsy  Ivaniau  braves  if  a  score  of  Hood's  Tex- 
ans  had  caught  sight  of  tiiem  ! 

Left  Johnstown  by  train  at  7.30  p.  !\i.,  and  by  paying  half  a 
dollar,  I  secured  a  berth  in  a  sleeping  car — a  most  admirable  and 
ingenious  Yankee  notion. 

V2tk  J^ly,  Sunday. — The  Pittsburg  and  Philadelphia  railway  is, 
1  believe,  accounted  one  of  the  best  in  America,  which  did  n»)t 
prevent  my  spending  eight  hours  last  night  off  the  line  ;  but,  being 
a.>!leep  at  the  time,  1  was  unaware  of  the  circumstance.  Instead 
of  arriving  at  Philadelphia  at  6  a.  i\i.,  we  did  not  get  theje  till 
3  P.  M.  Passed  Harrisburg  at  9  a.  i\i.  It  was  full  of  Yankee 
soldiers,  and  has  evidently  not  recovered  from  the  excitement  con- 
sequent upon  the  late  invasion,  one  effect  of  which  has  been  to 
prevent  the  cutting  of  the  crops  by  the  calling  out  of  the  uiilitia. 

At  Philadelphia  I  saw  a  train  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty 
Confederate  prisoners,  who  were  being  stared  at  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  heau  nionde  oi  Philadelphia.  I  mingled  wiih  the  crowd 
which  was  chal!ing  them.  Most  of  the  people  were  good  natured, 
but  I  h.-ard  one  suggestion  to  the  effect  that  they  should  be  taken 
to  the  river,  "  and  every  mother's  son  of  them  drowned  there." 

I  arrived  at  New  Tork  at  10  p.  m.,  and  drove  to  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue Hotel. 

13M  July,  Monday. — The  luxury  and  comfort  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  strike  one  as  extraordinary  after  having  lately  come 
from  Charleston  and  Richmond.  The  greenbacks  seem  to  be  near- 
ly as  good  as  gold.  The  streets  are  as  full  as  possible  of  well- 
dressed  people,  and  are  crowded  with  able-bodied  civilians  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  who  have  evidently  no  intention  of  doing  so. — 
They  apparently  don  t  feel  the  war  at  all  here  ;  and  until  there  is 
a  grand  smash  with  their  money,  or  some  other  catastrophe  to 
make  them  feel  it,  1  can  easily  imagine  that  they  will  not  be  anx- 
ious to  make  peace. 

I  walked  the  whole  distance  of  Broadway  to  the  Consul's  house, 
and  nothing  could  ex-ceed  the  apparent  prosperity ;  the  streets 
were  covered  with  banners  and  placards  inviting  people  to  enlist 
in  various  high-sounding  regiments^  Bounties  of  $550  were  of- 
fered, and  huge  pictures  hung  across  the  street,  on  which  numbers 
of  ragged  grayhacks,*  terror  depicted  on  their  features,  were  being 
pursued  by  the  Federals. 


*  The  Northerners  call  the   Southerners  "  Graybacks,"  just  as  the  latter 
eall  the  former  "  Bluebeliies,"  ou  account  of  the  color  of  their  dress. 


151  ^ 

On  returning  to  the  Fifth  Avenue,  I  found  all  the  shopkeepers 
beginning  to  close  their  stores,  and  I  perceived  by  degrees  that 
there  was  great  alarm  about  the  resistance  to  the  draft  which  was 
going  on  this  morning.  On  reaching  the  hotel  I  perceived  a  whole 
block  of  buildings  on  fire  close  by :  engines  were  present,  but 
were  not  allowed  to  play  by  the  crowd.  In  the  hotel  itself,  uni- 
versal consternation  prevailed,  and  an  attack  by  the'mob  had  been 
threatened.  I  walked  about  in  the  neighborhood,  and  saw  a  com- 
pany of  soldiers  on  the  march,  who  were  being  jeered  at  and  hoot- 
ed by  small  boys,  and  I  saw  a  negro  pursued  by  the  crowd  take 
refuge  with  the  military;  he  was  followed  by  loud  cries  of  "Down 

with  the  b y  nigger!     Kill  all  niggers!"  &c.    Never  having 

been  in  New  York  before,  and  being  totally  ignorant  of  the  state 
of  feeling  with  regard  to  negroes,  I  inquired  of  a  bystander  what 
the  negroes  had  done  that  they  should  want  to  kill  them  ]  He 
replied  civilly  enough — "Oh  sir,  they  hate  them  here;  they  are 
the  innocent  cause  of  all  these  troubles."  Shortly  afterwards,  I 
saw  a  troop  of  citizen  cavalry  come  up  ;  the  troopers  were  very 
gorgeously  al tired,  but  evidently  experienced  so  much  difficulty 
in  sitting  their  horses,  that  they  were  more  likely  to  excite  laugh- 
ter than  any,  other  emotion. 

lith  July,  Tuesday.-— -At  breakfast  this  morning  two  Irish  wait- 
ftrs,  seeing  I  was  a  Britisher,  came  up  to  me  one  after  another,  and 
Whispered  at  intervals  in  hoarse  Hibernian  accents — "  It's  dis- 
graceful, sir.  I've  been  drafted,  sir.  I'm  a  Briton.  I  love  my 
country.  I  love  the  Union  Jack,  sir.  I  suggested  an  interview 
with  Mr.  Archibald,  but  neither  of  them  seemed  to  c^re  about 
going  to  the  Counsel  just  yet.  These  rascals  have  probably  been 
hard  at  work  for  years,  voting  as  free  and  enlightened  American 
citizens,  and  abusing  England  to  their  hearts' 'content. 

I  heard  every  one  talking  of  the  total  demoraliz-ation  of' the 
Rebels  as  a  certain  fact,  and  all  seemed  to  anticipate  their  ap- 
proaching destruction.  ^  All  this  sounded  very  absurd  to  me,  who 
had  left  Lee's  army  four  days  previously  as  full  of  fight  as  ever — 
much  stronger  in  numbers,  and  ten  times  more  efficient  in  every 
military  point  of  view,  than  it  was  when  it  crossed  the  Potomac  to 
invade  Maryland  a  year  ago.  In  its  own  opinion,  Lee's  army  has 
not  lost  any  of  its  prestige  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  in  which 
it  most  gallantly  stormed  strong  intrenchments  defended  by  the 
whole  army  of  the  Potomac,  which  never  ventured  outside  its 
works,  or  approached  in  force  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Confeder- 
ate artillery. 

The  result  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  together  with  the  fall  of 
Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson,  seems  to  have  turned  everybody's 
head  completely,  and  has  deluded  them  with  the  idea  of  the  speedy 


152 

and  complete  sulijngation  of  the  Soytb.  ^  I  was  tilled  with  aston- 
ishment to  hear  tlie  people  siM^akinjr  in  this  confident  manner,  when 
one  of  their  most  prosperous  Slates  had  been  so  recently  laid  un- 
der contribution  as  far  as  Ilarrisburg;  and  Washington,  their  capi- 
tal itself,  having  just  been  saved  by  a  fortunate  turn  ot  luck. 
Four-fifths  of  the  Pennsylvanian  spoil  had  safely  crossed  the  Po- 
tomac before  l»left  liugerslo)vn. 

The  consternation  in  the  streets  seemed  to  be  on  the  increase; 
fires  were  going  on  in  all  directions,  and  the  streets  were  being 
patrolled  by  large  bodies  of  police  followed  by  special  constaiiles, 
the  latter  bearing  truncheons,  but  not  looking  very  happy.  I 
heard  a  British  cnptain  making  a  deposition  before  ihe  Consul,  to 
the  effect  that  the  mob  had  got  on  l)oard  his  vessel,  and  cruelly 
beaten  his  cc/lored  cre<^.  As  no  British  man-of-war  was  present, 
the  French  Adniira'  was  appealed  to,  who  at  once  requested  that 
all  British  sliips  with  colored  crews  might  be  anchored  under  the 
guns  of  his  frigat'C. 

The  reports  of  outrages,  hangings,  and  murder,  were  now  most 
alarming,  the  terror  and  anxiety  were  universal.  All  shops  were 
shut  :  all  carriages  and  omnibuses  had  ceased  running.  No  color- 
ed man  or  woman  was  visible  or  safe  in  the  streets,  or  even  in  his 
own  dwelling.  Telegraphs  were  cut,  and  railroad  tracks  torn  up. 
The  draft  was  suspended,  and  the  mob  evidently  had 'the  upper 
hand. 

The  people  who  can't  pay  $300  naturally  hate  being  forced  to 
fight  in  order  to  liberate  the  very  race  who  they  are  most  anxious 
should  be  slaves,  it  is  their  direct  interest  not  only  that  all  slaves, 
sTiould  remain  slaves,  but  that  ,the  tree  Northern  negroes  who 
compete  with  them  for  labor  should  be  sent  to  the  South  also. 

\5f7i  July,  Wednesday. — The  hotel  this  morning  was  occupied 
by  military,  or  rather  by  creatures  in  uniform.  One  of  the  sentries 
stopped  me;  and  on  my  remonstrating  to  his  otEcer,  the  latter 
blew  up  the  sentry,  and  said,  "You  are  only  to  stop  persons  in 
military  dress — don't  you  know  what  military  dress  is?"  "No," 
responded  this  efficient  sentry — and  1  left  the  pair  discussing  the 
definition  of  a  soldier.  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  a' 
conveyance  down  to  the  water.  1  saw  a  stone  barricade  ,in  the 
distance,  and  heard  firing  going  on — and  I  was  not  at  all  sorry  to 
find'myself  on  board  the  China. 


POSTSCRirT. 


POSTSCRIPT. 


During  my  voyage  home  in  the  China,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  discussing  mth  many  intelligent  Northern  gentlemen  all  that  I 
had  seen  in  my  Southern  travels.  We  did  so  in  a  very  amicable 
spirit,  and  I  think  they  rendered  justice  to  my  wish  to  explain  to 
them  without  exaggeration  the  state  of  feeling  amongst  their  ene- 
mies. Although  these  Northerners  belonged  to  quite  the  upper 
classes,  and  were  not  likely  to  be  led  blindly- by  the  absurd  non- 
sense of  the  sensation  press  at  New  York,  yet  their  ignorance  of 
the  state  of  the  case  in  the  South  \vas  very  great. 

The  recent  successes  had  given  them  the  impression  that  the 
last  card  of  the  South  was  played.  Charleston  was  about  to  fall; 
Mobile,  Savannah  and  Wilmington  would  quickly  follow ;  Lee's 
army  they  thought,  was  a  disheartened,  disorganized  mob ;  Bragg's 
army  in  a  still  worse  condition,  fleeing  before  Rosecrans,  who 
would  carry  every  thing  before  him.  They  felt  confident  that  the 
fall  of  the  Mississippian  fortresses  would  prevent  communication 
from  one  bank  to  the  other,  and  that  the  great  river  would  soon  be 
open  to  peaceful  commerce. 

All  these  illusions  have  since  been  dispelled,  but  they  probably 
still  cling  to  the  idea  of  the  great  exhaustion  of  the  Southern  per- 
sonnel. 


156 

But  this  difficulty  of  recruiting  the  SojUhern  armies  is  not  so 
great  as  is  generally  supposed.  -  As  I  have  already  stated,  no  Con-  - 
fedw-ate  soldier  is  given  his  discharge , from  the  army,  however 
badly  he  may  be  wounded  ;  but  he  is  employed  at  such  labor  in  the 
public  service  as  he  may  be  capable  of  performing,  and  his  place 
in  the  ranks  is  taken  liy  a  sound  man  hitiierto  exempted.  The 
slightly  wounded  are  cured  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  are  sent  back 
at  once  to  their  regiments.  The  women  take  care  of  this.  The' 
number  actually  killed,  or  who  die  of  their  wounds,  are  the  only 
total  losses  to  the. State,  and  these  form  but  a  small  proportion  of. 
the  enormous  butcher's  bills  which  seem  at  first  so  very  appal- 
ling. 

J  myself  remember,  with  General  Polk's  corps,  a  fine-looking  man 
who  had  had  botli  his  hands  blown  off  at  the  wrists  i)y  unskilful 
arlillery-practice  in  one  of  the  early,  battles.  A  currycomb  and 
brush  were  fitted  into  his  stumps,  and  he  was  engaged  in  grooming 
artillerv-horses  with  considerable  skill.  This  man  Was  called  an 
hostler;  and,  as  the  War  drags  on,  the  number  of  these  .handless 
hostlers  will  increase.  By  degrees  the  clerks  at  the  offices,  the  or- 
derlies, the  railway  and  post-office  officials,  aud  the  stage-drivers, 
■will  be  composed  of  maimed  and  mutilated  soldiers.  The  number 
of  exempted  persons  all  over  the  South  is  still  very  large,  and  they 
can  ea.><ily  be  exchanged  for  worn  veterans.  Besides  this  fund  to 
draw  upon,  a  calculation  is  made  of  the  number  of  boys  who  aTrive 
each  year  at  the  fighting  age.  These  are  all  "panting  for  the 
rifle,"  but  have  been  latterly  wisely  forbidden  the  ranks  until  they 
are  fit  to  undergo  the  hardships  of  a  military  life.  By  these  means, 
it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Cnfederates  that  they  can  k^ep  their  armies 
recruited  up  to  their  present  strength  for  several  years  ;  and,  if  the  •■ 
worst  comes  to  the  worst,  they  can  always  fall  back  upon  their  ne- 
groes as  the  last  resort;  bat  I  do  not  think  they  contemplate  sueh 
a  necessity  as  likely  to  arise  for  a  considerable  time. 


157 

With  respect  to  the  supply  of  arms,  cannon,  powder,  and  military 
stores,  the  Confederates  ar^  under  no  alarm  whatever.  Augusta 
furnishes  more  than  sufiSeient^unpowder;  Atlanta,  copper  caps,  &c. 
The  Tredegar  works  at  Richmond,  and  other  foundries,  cast  more 
cannon  than  is  wanted  ;  and  the  Federal  generals  have  always  hith- 
erto proved  themselves  the  most  indefaiigable  purveyors  of  artil- 
lery to  the  Confederate  Government,  for  even  in  those  actions 
which  they  claim  as  drawn  battles  or  as  victories,  such  as  Corinth, 
Murfreesborough,  and  Gettysburg,  they'have  never  failed  to  make 
over  cannon  to  the  Southerners  without  exacting  any  in  return. 

My  Northern  friends  on  board  the  China  "spoke  much  and  earn- 
estly about  the  deterniination  of  the  North  to  crush  out  the  Rebel- 
lion at  any  sacrifice.  But  they  did  not  show  any.  dispositon  to 
figlit  themselves  in  this  cause,  although  many  of  them  would  have 
made  most  eligible  recruits ;  and  if  they  had  been  Southerners,  their 
female  relations,  would  have  made  them  enter  the  array  whether 
their  inclinations  led  them  that  way  or  not. 

I  do  not  mention  this  difference  of  spirit  by  way  of  making  any 
odious  comparisons  between  North  and  South  in  this  respect,  be- 
cause I  feel  sure  that  these  Northern  gentlemen  would  emulate  the 
example  of  their  enemy  if  they  could  foresee  any  danger  of  a  South- 
ern Buller  exercising  his  infamous  sway  over  Philadelphia,  or  of  a 
Confederate  Milroy  ruling  with  intolerable  despotism  in  Boston,  by 
withholding  the  necessaries  of  life  from  helpless  women  with  one 
hand,  whilst  tendering  them  with  the  other  a  hated  and  absni'd 
oath  of  allegiance  to  a  detested  Government. 

But  the  mass  of  respectable  Northerners,  though  they  may  be 
willing  to  pay,  do  not  very  naturally  feel  themselves  called  upon  to 
give  their  blood  in  a  war  of  aggression,  ambition,  and  conquest. — 
■  For  this  war  is  essentially  a  war  of  conquest.  If  ever  a  nation 
did  wage  such  a  war,  the  North  is  now  engaged,  with  a  determina- 
tion worthy  of  a  more  hopeful  cause,  in  endeavoring  t^  conquer  the 


158 

-South;  but  the  more  J  think  of  all  that  I  have  seert  in  the  Con- 
federate States  of  the  devotion  of  the  whole  population,  the  more  I 
feel  inclined  to  say  with  General  Polk— "How  can  you  subjugate 
such  a  people  as  this?"  and  even  supposing  that  their  extermination 
were  a  feasible  plan,  as  some  Northerners  have  suggested,  I  nev- 
er can  believe  that  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  civilized  world 
will  be  condemned  to  witness  the  destruction  of  such  a  gallant 
race. 


THE  END. 


-  / 


9    •  9   » 


f./ 


\J 


:3^4M 


idnano 


